


When Two Combine

by MischievousChaos (AthanasiaElpis)



Series: The Separated Worlds [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: A very long series, About demigods helping save the wizarding world, And I like Luna/girl, Basically the demigods having shenanigans and lots of Serious Stuff at Hogwarts, Demigods are weird, Demigods at Hogwarts, Draco is a demigod, F/F, F/M, Harry is sassy, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I will not abandon this work, Justin is a demigod, Lots of canon, Lots of things happen, Luna is a demigod, Luna likes girls, M/M, Magic doesn't like them, Neville is a demigod, Nico and Will are adorable, PERCY IS A LITTLE SHIT, Seems rude to abandon stuff, Swearing, The Author Regrets Nothing, Thought you'd like to know, Wands are confusing, Will and Nico are great, Will continue, Wizards are weird, but not completely, don't get your hopes up, get used to it, part of a series, there are injuries, they're teenagers, will update once a week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2017-01-24
Packaged: 2018-09-02 19:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8679949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AthanasiaElpis/pseuds/MischievousChaos
Summary: “If there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that, for better or for worse, our ancestors had a reason for keeping us apart.” Join eight demigods, all our favorites plus Kyra Blair, on a journey to Hogwarts that could change their entire world. Paralleled with The Goblet of Fire and will have some continuity.





	1. The Alliance (Prologue)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! 
> 
> It’s been awhile since I posted anything, so I really hope you like it!
> 
> Enjoy the story, and remember: everything is not always what it seems… ;)
> 
> Disclaimer: I, sadly, don’t own anything even close to the rights for Percy Jackson and the Olympians or those of Harry Potter. Those belong to Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling respectively.

The Alliance

Prologue

 

* * *

 

_We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us._

_-_ _Joseph Campbell_

 

* * *

_Riley_

The stone steps leading to the Riddle House were strewn with dry leaves and twigs, blown from the numerous trees that were spread throughout the expansive grounds. The caretaker, a mortal named Frank Bryce, obviously hadn’t bothered sweeping the sidewalks with the absence of living souls in the place.

There were many things on Riley Jacobs’ mind as he slowly approached the imposing, dark door of the mansion. Chief among these was his unfortunate luck, which was - regrettably - a common problem. Kronos had sent him to run an important errand, prompting a whole new chorus of ‘Hey, it’s Luke the Second!’ The nickname - though admittedly somewhat true - irritated Riley to no end. There were a great many differences between Riley Jacobs and the late Luke Castellan, not the least of which being that Riley’s father was Apollo, not Hermes.

Though that didn’t make much of a difference, it seemed. Apollo was not much better of a father than Hermes, and the sun god didn’t seem to make any more of an effort to be sure that his children were cared for.

Another difference was that Luke turned traitor to Kronos in the end, eventually picking the side of the gods. That was something Riley would never do. What had the gods ever done for him?

 _They gave you life_ , said the reproaching voice in the back of his head. Somehow, the voice reminded him of his mother in a way that was all-too-unsettling. Yes, the gods had given him life.

Well, one god anyway.

But what had happened after that? Like Luke, Riley’s father abandoned him to take care of himself and a mother who wasn’t all there. Riley himself had been much more of a parent than she _ever_ was, the drunk, abusive bitch. _How in Hades did Apollo even end up with someone like Lita anyways,_ he thought. He’d been asking himself that question for years.

It didn’t matter. His family life wasn’t important to him now. He’d made his choice.

After the Second Titan War, Kronos hadn’t really died, and neither had Riley, whatever the camp thought. That was the only thing he truly regretted. He had turned sides in the middle of the war, finally seeing that the true side of ‘good’ was that of Kronos. _Is there really a side of good at all?_

He’d let the camp think he had died "heroically _"_ , fighting a horde of hellhounds with his siblings, fallen from a bridge like his half-brother Michael. They’d mourned him, and he’d joined the remains of Kronos’ demigod forces after the war. They had then informed him that Kronos was still alive and kicking. Figuratively, of course, since he didn’t have a corporeal form.

After that, Riley’s life was serving Kronos. He had no other purpose, since his purpose had been stolen away from him. He went where Kronos ordered, did what Kronos needed to be done, and said what Kronos needed to be said. Not quite a sword-for-hire, he was the Titan King’s most loyal servant, never questioning anything Kronos told him, which was how he had ended up in this most unpleasant situation.

Riley found himself at the door of the Riddle House, which was cracked and weather-worn from years of mistreatment. He could tell that it was once beautiful, carved by a master, and that the house had been owned by someone particularly affluent. The door creaked as it opened. The noise was long-lasting and loud, piercing through the near silence of the dark evening.  Riley entered the almost-empty house, marveling at the obvious wealth that had once graced its hollow halls.

The door squealed its displeasure as its hinges were abused once again. Riley looked around, recalling his directions for the large manor house. _Turn right once you enter the rightmost door, entering the corridor. Take the staircase at the end of the corridor up to the second floor. Turn left at the hallway, and they will be in the room at the very end of the hall._

Riley observed the room, taking in the crystal chandelier hanging over his head, which looked like it would fall and crush him at any moment, and the dark corridor he was meant to walk. He entered it, and at the end there was a surprisingly sturdy-looking staircase. He walked up the steps, and was not surprised to find that the third step from the top creaked with the most dreadful sound.

 _Well, they know I’m here,_ he thought, turning left as per his instructions. He saw the door in question, and suddenly a shadow of a small, stout man covered the warm light in the fireplace. A high, cold voice, obviously belonging to someone other than the man in the doorway, spoke. “Ah, Mr. Jacobs. I was hoping you’d be along rather soon. Come, boy, don’t dally.”

Riley rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath. _Here we go…_ He walked down the hallway, and was met by the small man in the doorway. Being close enough to the man to touch him, Riley noticed that he had small, watery blue eyes and very large teeth that combined with his long, pointy nose to make him look extremely rat-like. “Riley Jacobs,” he said, offering his hand to the man, who shook it timidly.

“Peter Pettigrew, though most call me Wormtail.”

Riley raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I’ve heard of you.” He heard the high, cold voice again as Wormtail looked at him in curious wonder.

“Mr. Jacobs, you are a son of Apollo, correct?” Riley nodded before he realized that the owner of the voice, no doubt the man he was here to see, was not within viewing range.

“Yes, sir, though I prefer not to think about it. My father has done nothing for me and my loyalties lie elsewhere.” The voice laughed. The sound didn’t contain any mirth, and it sent shivers down Riley’s spine.

“Yes, it seems that is something we have in common. Come around to face me.” Riley looked, confused, at Wormtail, who pointed at the high-backed chair in the center of the room with a shaking finger. Riley walked cautiously towards the chair, and it took all of his experience as a demigod fighter to keep his face clear of any expression.

“You are, no doubt, disgusted by my present appearance.” Riley said nothing in response to the almost baby-like thing in the chair. He knew it was not a baby, however, because no baby could have red, snake-like eyes like that. No baby could have a flat face with no nose. He had heard what had happened to Lord Voldemort, but had no idea it was like _this._

“It is only temporary. As soon as our plan is completed, I will have a body and your master shall have what he needs.” Riley relaxed a bit at the mention of the plan.

“Lord Kronos sent me here tonight to confirm what exactly our next step will be, and to have me update you with some new occurrences at the camp.”

Voldemort looked at him with interest, or as close to interest as Riley could tell. “Yes, that was our agreement. First things first, what news do you bring of the camp?” Riley took a deep breath, pulling up memories from the previous day in Kronos’ hideout.

“Well, our spy at Camp informed us that they were given a quest a few days ago. He was not able to ascertain the exact words of the prophecy, however we know who is going and where. It has to do with Harry Potter.” Voldemort’s face grew cold. (-er)

“A group of eight demigods is being sent to protect him, and to participate in the events taking place at Hogwarts this year. That is all we uncovered, but for the names, and I would like to confirm our first step of the plan.” Voldemort-thing nodded. “The next step on my end is for my spy to infiltrate Hogwarts, which is already in motion. I assume Kronos is aware of his next step?” Riley nodded. “Yes. We need to make sure our spy keeps regular contact with his sister. That’s easy enough. She has plenty of siblings that will want to talk to her about what’s going on, so S-‘ Riley stopped himself. Kronos had made it specifically clear that Voldemort didn’t need to know the spy’s name. “Our spy won’t be suspect.”

Voldemort-thing smiled. “Now, for those names. Their godly parent as well, if you don’t mind.” Riley nodded, and thought for a moment. “Quest leader is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. The others are Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, Thalia Grace, Hunter of Artemis and daughter of Zeus, Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares, Connor and Travis Stoll, sons of Hermes, and Kyra Blair, daughter of Khione.”

“Excellent,” replied Voldemort. “That is all I shall need from you, Mr. Jacobs. Good evening, and report to your leader that everything is in place.”

* * *

Two Years Earlier

(The day before the Labyrinth Quest)

_Percy_

Percy was awakened rather rudely by a sudden noise. He couldn’t figure out where it had come from, but he ended up not having to investigate too much, since a voice suddenly called out. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, was banging on his door. “Percy, wake up,” she called, quietly as she could since it was very early.

“It’s two in the morning, Annabeth! What?” He could practically hear her eyes roll.

“There are half-bloods in trouble just past Thalia’s Tree!” That finally got him moving. Annabeth had been on patrol duty tonight. Even with Peleus guarding the tree, things had been pretty active lately and so they took secondary precautions.

Percy quickly dressed and grabbed his sword, Riptide, still in pen form. “Who are they, Annabeth? Do you know them?” Annabeth managed to explain while running, which is a fairly impressive feat.

“Yeah, well, I know the older one better. They’re brother and sister with the same godly parent, like Nico and Bianca. Their mom’s Khione!” Percy put on a confused face. “Who’s Khione?” Annabeth huffed and rolled her eyes. “She’s the goddess of winter, Seaweed Brain! The sister’s name is Kyra, and her younger brother is Seamus. They’re down there!” Percy stopped dead when he saw the fight. Kyra, who looked about Percy and Annabeth’s age, was obviously protecting her younger sibling.

She was holding two foot-long celestial bronze daggers, pointing backwards out of her hands. From the way she held them, Percy could tell that she was trained. Kyra was standing in front of a younger boy, who Percy presumed to be Seamus. Facing her was a large hellhound, about the size of a cement truck. There were two other smaller hellhounds flanking her from either side.

Kyra had obviously seen them, because she yelled, “Annabeth, a little help here!” Annabeth pulled her own dagger out and rushed down to help Kyra, calling at Percy to come with her. Shaking his head to clear it, Percy followed. When he arrived, Annabeth had slipped past the hellhounds with her invisibility cap, and she and Kyra were standing back-to-back, each facing a hellhound.

Percy snuck up from behind and managed to skewer one of the smaller hellhounds, blowing it into a huge cloud of gold dust. “One down, two to go,” said Kyra grimly. Her face cleared, and she went after the other small hellhound while Annabeth and Percy took the big one on together. Percy looked over at Kyra a few times and saw her zipping around the hellhound, flipping out of its reach and somersaulting so it couldn’t reach her.

Swinging his sword, he saw her get slashed across the back by the hellhound’s paw, but when she got back up, he saw no blood. Annabeth slid under their hellhound, slicing its belly open from the bottom, then stood, covered in monster dust. “How’s Kyra doing?” Percy shrugged. He wasn’t sure if he was seeing things or if Kyra had had some sort of magical item, but either way it wasn’t important right now.

“Let’s go help Seamus. She’s got it,” Annabeth said as Kyra jumped up onto the hellhound’s head and slit its throat, flipping off of it just before it became dust and landing on her feet.

“Showoff. You always did like to make the rest of us jealous with your gymnastics training.” Kyra grinned, and Percy asked, “I saw that hellhound take a swipe at you. Why aren’t you cut?” Kyra raised an eyebrow, and tugged at the black leather jacket she wore. “It’s indestructible,” she said with an air of indifference.  Annabeth looked at her curiously, and Kyra shrugged. “It’s enchanted. It was an eleventh birthday present from Mom. Seamus got a sword. I like mine better,” she said, grinning. She stuck out her hand for Percy to shake.

“Kyra Blair. Daughter of Khione.” Percy shook her hand.

“Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon.” Kyra’s eyes widened, and she glanced at Annabeth.

“No way! Are you the child of the prophecy?” Percy shrugged, and Kyra looked at Annabeth, who did the same. “We don’t know. I have two cousins, Thalia Grace,” Kyra interrupted, waving her hand, “Yeah, I know her. Ran with the hunters for a while. Who’s the other one?”

Annabeth sent a meaningful look at Percy, which clearly meant _we can trust her,_ and she said, “No one else knows about him, so you can’t tell anyone, okay?” Kyra nodded. “I’ve kept big secrets before, Annabeth. You know that.”

Annabeth nodded. “His name’s Nico di Angelo. His dad’s Hades.”

Kyra gasped, and then gave a thoughtful look. “You know, Hades was the only one I thought _wouldn’t_ break the agreement.” Annabeth laughed, while Percy smiled.

“That’s the funny thing about it. He didn’t.” Kyra looked confused. Her brother had snuck out from behind his rock and ran over to them a few thoughts before, but hadn’t said anything. She put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. “What do you mean? How is that possible?”

Percy said, “Have you heard of the Lotus Hotel & Casino?” Kyra nodded.

“Home of the Lotus Eaters? Yeah. One thing you need to know about me, Percy. I’ve been _everywhere._ ” He saw Seamus nod with wide eyes, and chuckled.

“Well, all we know is that they went there, and that they were put in there in the 1940’s.”

Kyra smiled. “Well, that’s certainly something you don’t see every day, huh? This is Seamus, by the way.”

Seamus shook Annabeth’s hand, and asked, “What’s your name?” Annabeth smiled.

“I’m Annabeth, Seamus. We’ve met before, but you were really little. I think you were about… four?” Kyra nodded.

“Yeah, you probably don’t remember Annabeth.”

Seamus asked, “What god?”

Annabeth said, “Athena is my mother,” proudly.

Seamus' eyes widened, “That’s so cool! What’s your name?” He was addressing Percy.

“My name’s Percy, and my dad’s Poseidon.”

Seamus eyes grew even larger. “The sea god! That’s _awesome!_ Wait, are you guys friends? Aren’t your parents enemies? Kyra, this is so cool!” She smiled affectionately at Seamus and gave Annabeth and Percy an apologetic look.

“I’m sorry, he gets like this. It’s early, and we haven’t had the chance to speak to friends for a while.” She whispered something in Seamus' ear, and then stood back up. She suddenly whitened.

“Oh my gods! I completely forgot about Jack! Seamus, will you go see if Jack’s okay? Remember, if he won’t wake up, don’t try to move him and just come back here, okay?” Seamus nodded and zipped off to a spot in the trees about thirty feet away. Kyra looked back to Percy and Annabeth, and explained, “Jack’s the satyr that helped us get here, finally. He got hit over the head and passed out, so I had Seamus drag him into the trees because he couldn’t make it up the hill with him.”

Seamus came back out of the trees leading a satyr with a ripped gray t-shirt on. He walked up to Kyra, and she checked him out, making sure he didn’t have a concussion, Percy guessed. “Oh, I think you’ll be okay. I’m glad, that could’ve turned out a lot worse.” The satyr nodded at her, wincing from the movement, and put his hand back on his forehead.

“Hi, Jack!” said Annabeth, and she got a ‘hi’ that was half-groan in reply. “Anyways, we should probably take you guys up to Chiron.”

Kyra nodded. “Sorry to wake you up so early.” Annabeth told her not to worry about it, and Kyra looked grateful.

“Come on, Seamus.” She put her arm around her brother’s shoulders again, and they began walking up Half-Blood Hill.

“So Kyra,” Percy began, “You mentioned that Jack was the one who ‘finally helped you get here?’ What did you mean by that?”

She gave him a strange look. “You mean you don’t know?”

Annabeth stopped and everyone else halted with her. “Don’t know what?”

Kyra sighed and ran her hand through her hair. “Kronos has been hiring monsters for a very specific purpose. I suppose you could call them mercenaries. He’s been strategically placing them surrounding this place to halt demigod and satyr traffic here. They leave satyrs coming from the camp alone, but attack demigod groups going in. We were stuck about thirty miles outside the city because we couldn’t get past the monsters. We needed a satyr to help guide us here, and eventually Jack found us.”

Percy shared a look with Annabeth, whose eyes were wide. “Oh my gods…” she whispered, “We had no idea.”

They began to head to the Big House again, and Percy sighed, annoyed. “I’ll be glad when this whole Kronos thing is finally over.”


	2. The Prophecy of Eight

The Prophecy of Eight

Chapter One

 

* * *

 

_Percy_

“I know you’re up there, Kyra,” Percy said, gazing up into the trees.

The towering masses of leaves and twigs were Kyra’s strong point in this game. She was dead silent in the trees.

She’d been teaching Percy how to use the trees to his advantage, but he always ended up falling out of the tree and landing on his ass. Percy heard a branch crack and his eyes (and sword) snapped to the tree to his right. He snuck up to the tree and gasped in surprise when he felt two daggers press into him from behind, from his previous left. The opposite direction. The real surprise was that she was _on the ground,_ if he was being honest with himself. 

One of Kyra's daggers was at his throat, the other pointing into his left side. Her silky voice spoke in his ear, her breath warm against his cheek. “What was that, Dolphin Boy?”

Percy rolled his eyes. “Nope. That one’s just stupid.”

Kyra sighed, pulling her daggers from Percy and shoving them back into her black leather boots. She’d asked a favor from a friend in the Hephaestus cabin to rig the boots, which she usually chose to fight in, since they were flexible and didn’t have much of a heel, so that they could comfortably sheathe her daggers. They were always at hand when she needed them, same as Riptide.

“Damn. I really thought that was the one.”

Percy chuckled. Kyra had been trying to figure out a clever nickname for him since they’d met, and they had only gotten worse over the two years they’d known each other. They had been anywhere from ‘Tuna Toes,’ to ‘Mr. Sponge.’

"Why don’t you use a bow instead of those daggers of yours? You’re good with one.” She raised her eyebrows, and he reconsidered. “Well, you’re better than me at least _._ You actually _hit the target,_ remember?”  

Kyra grinned, pulling what Percy recognized as Annabeth’s dagger out of the back of the waistband of her jeans, where mortal cops keep handguns in television shows. “I don’t use a bow because I prefer the daggers, Percy, and because I use a much closer, more personal approach. Hand-to-hand, you know.”

Percy did know. Kyra's father had enrolled her in gymnastics and martial arts when she was younger, and she’d asked for permission from Chiron to continue them in the city once a week when she’d come to camp the first time.

When she’d returned two years before, she’d gotten Chiron’s approval to teach a class that taught demigods how to use the flips and flexibility to avoid their enemies’ sharp talons. It had also worked well against their demigod opponents in the Second Titan War. The hand-to-hand was also useful.

Kya looked around for a moment as Percy thought, searching the ground for something. What exactly it was, Percy didn’t know. She smiled a few seconds later, running her eyes up a tree, so he assumed she’d found it.

“Remind me, why were we out here again, Annabeth?”

Percy jumped when he heard Annabeth’s voice come from a tree just behind him in reply.

In fact, it was the same tree Kyra had just been looking at. He looked around for his girlfriend in vain before he realized that she must have had her invisibility cap on when Kyra captured her.

She sounded annoyed. “It was an exercise to see which one of us could sneak up on the others first. You won,” she said reluctantly. “ _Don’t_ make me say it again?”

Kyra sighed dramatically and nodded.

“Could you please let me go now?”

Kyra blew in Percy’s general direction, and he felt a cold winter breeze, obviously caused by Kyra since it was August, blow past him. Annabeth’s Yankee’s cap fell to the ground by his feet, and he picked it up. Then he saw Annabeth.

She was frozen to the tree, with her wrists and waist encased in ice. Her eyes were shut against the cold and her hair blew in the wind. She glared at Kyra, who laughed and said, “Hey, I had to be able to see you to let you go, Annabeth.”

Percy glared at Annabeth, since she had been in full view of him the entire time and must have known that Kyra was there.

“How come you didn’t warn me, Annabeth?”

Kyra walked by, whistling innocently. She touched the ice on Annabeth, and handed her the precious dagger back as it melted, freeing Annabeth’s arms. Percy turned his gaze expectantly on Kyra. She looked at Annabeth, obviously for permission, and Annabeth waved her arm in a ‘go ahead’ gesture.

“I may or may not have threatened Annabeth by informing her that I would tell the whole camp her most embarrassing secret if she warned you in any way.”

She didn’t make eye contact with Percy, instead choosing to inspect her nails, which, in case you were wondering, were still their black-polish-covered selves.

Percy approved. “Nice blackmail,” he complimented Kyra. She grinned, and Percy turned to Annabeth, who was studying her dagger. “How long did it take her to get you?”

Annabeth smirked, and Kyra blushed.

“I actually got her first, but she slipped away.”

Kyra snickered, and Annabeth glared at her.

Percy asked, “What happened?”

Kyra explained, “Annabeth snuck up behind me with her invisibility cap, and tried to get me to the same tree. I pulled an _admittedly_ dirty trick.”

Annabeth huffed. “I’ll say.”

Kyra turned to her. “Hey, _you_ were the one that said anything goes!” Annabeth waved her hand at Kyra, and she continued with an eye roll.

“Anyways, I made her dagger ice-cold, and when she dropped it we fought hand-to-hand for a moment before I managed to pin her to the tree and freeze her there.”

The girls smiled at each other evilly, each glancing at Percy.  _What in Hades are they up to now?_

Annabeth told Percy, “It took her ten or fifteen minutes to do that. It took ten minutes for me to _catch_ her in the first place. That was when she _finally_ dropped from that tree.”

Percy gave her a confused look, and Annabeth explained. “She was hunting you. It took another five minutes for her to beat me.”

Kyra looked like she was trying not to laugh. “It only took me about two minutes to find you, Percy. You suck at this game!” She and Annabeth laughed, and Percy knew he looked embarrassed.

“It must be a guy thing,” said a voice from the edge of the shadows. Kyra’s ears pricked up.

“Nico!” She jogged over to where they’d heard his voice come from, and suddenly he was behind her, with his hands on her shoulders since they were around the same height.

She whirled around. “Jesus, Nico! Sorry, Annabeth, what god’s name is appropriate there?”

Annabeth shrugged. “That’s what I would say.”

They all laughed, and Kyra dragged Nico out into the sunlight. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the sudden change in light.

Percy looked curiously at Nico. “So, Zombie Dude, other than scaring us all half to death, what are you doing out here?”

Nico sighed and hesitated for a moment before answering him. “Chiron wanted me to come tell you guys that he has a prophecy for us.”

All three of the other demigods made outraged noises. Annabeth sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me! We _just_ got done with the last one,” said Kyra angrily, and Annabeth nodded gravely.

Nico shrugged. “I know, I was there, remember? He wanted us to gather the rest of the counselors. And Annabeth,” he looked straight at Annabeth for the last sentence, “He said _all_ of the counselors.”

Annabeth looked at him in amazement, which was corrupted by the sadness and resignation in her eyes, and replied, “This must be _bad,_ ” while Percy and Kyra gave each other an exasperated look.

“We don’t even have all of the cabins finished yet for those counselors to live in! It’s only been a week, Nico! What is he _thinking_ …” Annabeth trailed off, an unsure look on her face.

Percy put a hand on her shoulder and stepped over to face her. “I don’t know what this is all about, Annabeth, but why don’t we just do what Chiron asks and see where things go from there?”

Annabeth nodded, resigned. “That’s a good plan.”

Percy smiled, and threw his arm out to Kyra, who hesitated. Percy thought, _This was really_ _bad timing._ “Come on, Ice Queen.”

She rolled her eyes at the nickname with a little grin, and Percy smiled.

“Let’s go gather some demigods.”

They all walked off to what seemed to be their never-ending fight. Little did they know then that their lives were about to get a whole lot more complicated.

* * *

_Kyra_

When the camp had started building cabins for the children of minor gods, and more children from many different minor deities had begun to arrive, there were quite a few things that had begun to change. One of them was the location of their meetings. Since there were at least a dozen new counselors, including Kyra, and new demigods were being found and claimed every day, the basement of the Big House simply didn’t cut it anymore as a practical place for meetings. They’d had to move the meetings to the amphitheater, because it was bigger.

There was a thunderous noise in the amphitheater as the group walked in. It was incredible exactly how much noise a group of almost thirty demigods could make.

Kyra said, “Hey!” to Alex, the counselor from Nemesis, and when she saw her good friend, Lou Ellen from Hecate, who was sitting alone, she ran over and pulled Lou Ellen along, chattering and laughing as Nico glared. The group moved to the front, where they sat down together. At the first meeting they’d had all together, the minor and major gods’ children had sat apart, but after a few meetings, they had begun to mix, just as Chiron had hoped. There had been many meetings for the first few days, and it had been very hectic for _everyone._ Their whole world, their whole way of life, had changed.

Everyone began to quiet down, and Kyra, sitting to the left of Lou Ellen and the right of Nico, saw Chiron come in. He held up a hand, and suddenly the demigods were silent. Everyone sat down, and listened to the centaur.

“I know that coming here must have been hard for all of you, given the fact that our last prophecy was only recently overcome.” There was muttering and glares sent towards the sky, and Chiron gave an apologetic smile. Kyra saw Percy and Annabeth looked at each other sadly.

“Yet I also know that all of you are strong enough to rise to the challenge of our new prophecy, whatever it may entail.”

Unconsciously, many of the demigods straightened in their seats from the praise. They were sitting every which way, and scattered over the benches. Kyra, since they were in front, was sitting with her feet up on the railing, while Annabeth’s head was leaning on Percy’s shoulder and they were holding hands. Nico was slouching, while watching Chiron with a curious expression. Lou Ellen’s legs were up with Kyra’s, but her expression was lighter.

“I have… regretful news.”

Again, there was a great wave of unhappy mutters and chattering. Chiron continued, and the demigods settled for glaring at the sky again.

“I’m afraid that Rachel, our oracle, has informed me that this is a prophecy that could change the world, just as the last one.”

Groans and swearing was heard from the demigods, and Annabeth sighed while Nico whispered, “Not _again,_ ” in Kyra’s ear.

She nodded and whispered back, “Do we ever get a break?”

Chiron welcomed Rachel, who had been standing off to the side, to the dirt in the center of the amphitheater.

“Hey, guys. Sorry about this.” She sent an apologetic glance at Percy and Annabeth, who smiled weakly at her.

Rachel took a deep breath, and green smoke poured from her mouth and her eyes glowed with an unearthly green light.

The triple voice of the Oracle spoke through her mouth.

_“_ **_Listen well, demigods, for this will be like nothing ever before. It will be the first of five dangerous prophecies that will further change the world as you know it.”_ **

There was a collective groan from the demigods.

**_“These prophecies speak of the fate of a world very different from your own.”_**

_Well,_ that’s _not ominous at all,_ Kyra thought sarcastically, sending a weary glance at Nico. The words came almost hesitantly, as if even she, the millennia-old Oracle, were unsure of their fate and its meaning.

**_“Eight shall travel to Hecate’s Land,_ **

**_The time for revealing is now at hand.”_ **

Rachel-Who-Was-Not-Rachel looked directly at Chiron went she said that line, and the centaur seemed to grow pale. 

**_“The Chosen there shall they protect,_ **

**_Their secrets shall three friends detect.”_ **

Annabeth gasped at that one, and Kyra could tell that they’d just had the same thought.

**_Three children of the ruling gods,_ **

**_Shall face deadly tasks with deadly odds.”_ **

Nico and Percy sighed.

**_A child of winter shall turn the tides,”_ **

Kyra raised her eyebrows as Nico gave her a concerned look.

**_And save the eight from death on all sides._ **

**_A single choice in a desperate race,_ **

**_If life or death the worlds shall face.”_ **

There was a shocked silence as Rachel fainted and was caught by her attendants and take off-stage. Chiron walked over to them, and retrieved the piece of paper that had appeared with the prophecy’s end. _Well, I guess that proves that it’s a Great Prophecy,_ thought Kyra.

Percy broke the silence. “That had to be the _longest_ prophecy I have ever heard.”

There was a smattering of laughter, but most of the demigods were stunned. Kyra and Annabeth looked at each other.

Chiron looked to Annabeth. “Generally, this part is something that you do on your own, but there is something I must tell you once you’ve uncovered what you can.” Annabeth nodded, looking thoughtful.

Ellie, the counselor from Morpheus, spoke first. “Well, the second pair of lines is pretty obvious. There’s evidently a ‘Chosen One’ wherever the quest group has to go, and they have to protect him or her.”

Kyra continued with her own thought. “Yeah, and ‘their secrets shall three friends detect,’ well, I think we all know what _that_ means.” There were a few nods, and agreement was written on the demigods’ faces. “They, whoever they are, are going to find out we’re demigods.”

There was a bit of ominous silence after that statement. Everyone knew it was true, but didn’t wish to believe it.

Annabeth spoke again, albeit uncomfortably. “Sadly, I think we all also know what ‘three children of the ruling gods,’ means as well.”

There was angry muttering all over the crowd, especially loud from Percy and Nico.

Nico spoke to Kyra. “What was that you were saying about ‘ _us’_ never getting a break? _”_ Kyra shrugged defensively.

“Hey! Khione’s kid is mentioned, too!” Someone had shouted from the clump of demigods on the right.

Kyra glared pointedly at Nico, who had the sense to look a bit sheepish. Kyra spoke again, her eyes back on Chiron. “And what about ‘shall face deadly tasks with deadly odds’?” There was silence again, and she answered her own question. “I think it means they’ll have to participate in some sort of… organized challenge.”

Percy looked at her curiously. “Why do you say that?”

Annabeth answered him, instead of Kyra, who smiled back at her. Annabeth gazed at Kyra as she did so. “I know why. It has to do with the first line, doesn’t it? That scroll we discovered in June.”

Kyra nodded. “If it means what I think it means…” she trailed off, glancing worriedly at Chiron, who nodded. “Oh, _shit.”_ People really looked scared then.

“What does it mean?” asked Megan, the counselor from Aeolus. 

Chiron sighed and Kyra and Annabeth shared a worried glance. “It has been over three thousand years since the races encountered each other formally and civilly.” There were a few widened eyes. The entire group of demigods gazed expectantly up at their trainer.

“In the beginning of the reign of Zeus, quite a few thousands of years ago, there were five dominant sub-races of humans. There were the vampires, who are scarce even now, the werewolves, who are prevalent but not in our jurisdiction, the mortals, the demigods, and the wizards.”

Annabeth and Kyra sighed as their theory was confirmed. They’d studied ancient history with much relish, attempting to uncover a way to beat Kronos, and had found the story of the wizards in June, just a few months before. The girls taken their idea to Chiron, but he’d told them that demigods and wizards had a _history,_ and that was all they’d gotten out of him. He’d made them swear on the River Styx that they wouldn’t tell anyone.

“I know that it’s difficult for some of you to accept wizards as real and that all of you may have, as children, thought of them as myths, fairy tales, but then again,” He looked at Percy, who finished his sentence.

“That’s exactly what we thought about our kind, too. If we’re real, why can’t they be?”

There were murmured sounds of agreement from the crowd. Someone said, “I’m not really _that_ surprised, with all the things we’ve found out are real.”

Kyra leaned around Nico and whispered to both him and Clarisse, whom she was friendly with. “You ever heard about how the average IQ of a crowd goes down as the size of the group increases?”

Clarisse nodded, and Nico said, “The theory of the hive mind? Yeah. It’s pretty annoying.”

Kyra and Clarisse gave him really weird looks, and he said, “What? You don’t have to be a child of Athena to know stuff.”

The two girls shrugged at each other ( _Boys,_ Kyra thought,) and went back to listening.

Chiron continued his story. “As you know, the humans were created by the gods, and demigods are a mix of human and god. Nyx, Goddess of Night, created vampires and werewolves, the latter with help from a few other minor gods, and Hecate created the wizards.” Kyra saw Lou Ellen’s eyebrows raise as far as they could go and she stifled a laugh.

“Wizards and demigods never really got along, but it got worse as time went on. Eventually, there was a great war that caused the two to be separated permanently. Hecate wiped the wizards’ memories of the demigods and their own origins and provided them with a satisfying history of their own.

“An agreement was made that all of the headmasters at each current wizard school would know of our existence, in case something like this ever happened. I am in contact with each of them.

“A thousand years ago, there were four great wizards, named Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They created a school called Hogwarts.”

There were a few giggles and chuckles at that, but most of the demigods were too preoccupied by the story to laugh.

“Each founder valued a different set of traits for their students. Gryffindor valued bravery, chivalry, and strength of will. The symbol for his house is a lion. Ravenclaw valued intelligence, wisdom, and strength of mind. The symbol for her house is an eagle. Hufflepuff valued kindness, loyalty, and strength of heart. The symbol for her house is a badger. Slytherin valued ambition, cunning, and strength of wit. The symbol of his house is a snake.

“They enchanted a hat so that it could sort students after they had passed, and the school is still the most prominent one in the United Kingdom. Although there are several such wizarding schools on our continent, this is the one that the prophecy demands you travel to.”

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows. “Why, Chiron?”

“Because that is the school that Harry Potter attends. I must explain a few things before getting to that, however. There are a few classes, meaning types of people, in the wizarding world. In the American Wizarding world they would call a person without magic a no-maj. In Britain, they are known as muggles. As for wizards, there are purebloods, descended directly from the original blessed demigods who began their race. There are half-bloods, who are mixes of muggles, their word for mortals, and purebloods, in some way, shape, or form. Some examples of possibilities are the most common: purebloods and muggles mixing, which doesn’t happen often, half-bloods and purebloods, half-bloods with half-bloods, and purebloods or half-bloods with muggle-borns. Can anyone guess what a muggle-born is?”

Kyra said, “A wizard born from a mortal family?”

Chiron smiled and nodded. “This is caused by a residual blessing, left from their creation, by Hecate’s intention. There are also squibs, who are the opposite. They are people born from wizard families with no magical ability.”

Nico whispered in Kyra’s ear. “That would _really_ suck.” She nodded in agreement.

Chiron continued. “Now, just as in our world, there are prejudices and discrimination among the wizards. One such instance is that many purebloods, and some half-bloods, believe that muggles, and by extension muggle-borns, are beneath them, and that they are the best because they are pure wizard.”

There was a disgusted silence. That sounded _way_ too much like Kronos’ ideals about mortals for comfort.

“This is nonsense, of course, because there are many muggle-borns who are much more powerful than their pureblooded counterparts.

“There is also a rude name that you must be aware of simply because you will likely encounter it. It is a derogatory term for muggle-borns. The word is mudblood. It’s the worst insult to use for a muggle-born, and most wizards, muggle-born or not, take high offense to it.

“Slytherin is the house that you will see the most of this prejudice in, however it is present in some quantities everywhere. Do not discriminate as they do.

“Now, for your quest. I know that you are going to Hogwarts for the reason I stated earlier, that Harry Potter is at Hogwarts. The explanation for this begins fifty years ago, with a young Slytherin student named Tom Riddle.

“Tom Riddle was a model student. The current headmaster of Hogwarts was around when Tom was a boy, and found him to be charismatic, persuasive, and incredibly smart, but also inconceivably cruel. Tom managed to convince most all of his teachers to like him, except for my friend.”

“What’s his name? Your friend,” someone asked from the back.

“Albus Dumbledore,” replied Chiron. “To continue, Tom was the descendant of Salazar Slytherin. Slytherin left the school before he died, but he had made a secret chamber in the depths of the castle, where he placed a basilisk. That’s a humongous snake that not only has one of the most incurable poisons in the world, other than gorgon blood, but a gaze that can kill you instantly.”

“I wouldn’t want to meet _that_ ,” said Percy. Chiron smiled sadly.

“No, you wouldn’t. Slytherin left the Chamber of Secrets, as it was called, for his heir to find. As you know, that was Tom Riddle. Slytherin was a parselmouth, which means he could talk to snakes, and Tom had the same ability. Slytherin was the original muggle-hater, and it’s rumored that he left the monster there so that his heir could use it to purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin’s view, were unworthy to study magic.”

“Muggle-borns,” said Annabeth quietly.

Chiron nodded gravely. “When Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets, a muggle-born named Myrtle died. He already, even then, had no respect for muggle-born life. Tom blamed it on another student who had a fondness for dangerous magical creatures, named Rubeus Hagrid. Hagrid was expelled, but Dumbledore allowed him to stay on as gamekeeper. He is still there today, teaching Care of Magical Creatures now.

“Tom Riddle graduated and was not heard from again. In a few years, a dark wizard by the name of Voldemort began to gather followers to his cause.”

Lou Ellen called out,“What was his cause?” Chiron smiled grimly, without mirth.

“I shall reach that. He wanted to rule the world, and was willing to do anything to achieve his goal. His followers were called Death Eaters. They killed muggles for fun, and slaughtered the wizards who got in their way or tried to stop them. He had all manners of Dark creatures on his side, such as giants and werewolves. Voldemort was, and still is, feared throughout Europe as the most dangerous, and powerful, Dark Wizard of his time.”

Kyra raised her eyebrows, and saw Annabeth in deep thought.

“Was?” A voice was heard from the back. Chiron nodded gravely.

“He was defeated. There was a prophecy, which was heard by one of Voldemort’s followers, predicting Voldemort’s defeat. It said that a baby would be born at the end of July who would have the power to defeat Voldemort. The baby that the prophecy refers to is Harry Potter, a fourth year at Hogwarts. He is the Chosen One the prophecy speaks of.”

“What happened?” Annabeth’s voice rang through the silence caused by Chiron’s tale.

“Voldemort showed up to the Potters’ house on Halloween night, thirteen years ago this year. He killed Harry’s father, James, and followed Lily, his mother, up the stairs. Lily threw herself in front of her son, shielding him from Voldemort. The evil wizard offered to spare her, but Lily refused, and sacrificed herself for her son as Voldemort killed her.”

There was a moment of heavy silence. Many of the demigods understood sacrifice, and it wasn't exactly unheard of for a half-blood to lose their mortal parent to a monster.

“When Voldemort cast the curse, the _Avada Kedavra,_ killing curse, at Harry, it rebounded and destroyed Voldemort’s body, defeating him after a reign of twelve years. Harry gained a scar, marked in the curious shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead: the stamp of a dark, evil curse.”

There were a few gasps. “How could a _baby_ defeat a powerful Dark wizard?”

Chiron shrugged. “We don’t know other than it is something to do with the fact that Lily sacrificed herself for Harry. Love is powerful magic.” The counselor from Aphrodite, Jade, smirked at everyone with an ‘I told you so!’ face.  

Chiron sighed. “This is all that I am able to tell you, though there is some additional information I will give the quest group. Speaking of, it is time to decide who is going on this quest.” Chiron then said some words that sounded very old-fashioned and official, words that Kyra had never heard before. “Who would give themselves to the quest of the Prophecy of Eight?”

Four hands went up in the air within the next few seconds, all belonging to people who’d been debating the whole time whether they should go. Another hand that only Chiron saw went up only a few seconds after, and Annabeth gasped. Kyra looked back and smiled at Thalia, daughter of Zeus, as she walked down to sit next to Annabeth. _That’s five,_ thought Kyra, _only three more._ Two more hands went up, nearly in perfect unison, and Kyra rolled her eyes at their owners. One more hand went up, with a definitely arrogant confidence, and the quest group was complete. Chiron designated Annabeth as quest leader, and the daughter of Athena stood and spoke.

“Just to be clear, it’s me, Percy, Nico, Thalia, Kyra, Clarisse, and the Stolls?” Chiron nodded, and dismissed the demigods. “Questing group, we shall meet back here tomorrow at nine-thirty!” It was only eight at night, so the demigods all split to go train, or walk, or whatever. The quest group knew that it was going to be their last night of normalcy for a long time, so they decided to make the best of it.

 


	3. The Night Before

The Night Before

Chapter Two

* * *

_Anger is what happens when the shame, embarrassment, and ridicule becomes too much. A person’s character isn’t determined by their anger, simply by what they choose to do with it._

_-Unknown_

* * *

_Kyra_

The eight walked out of the meeting together, but went their separate ways once they had done so. Nico followed close behind Kyra, and they headed to the beach. Annabeth and Percy went to the beach, too, but they went the opposite way and sat down on the grass, away from the sand.

Kyra, with Nico trailing silently close behind, walked along for a bit, watching the stars twinkle. It was hard for her to comprehend the task ahead of them. It seemed so close that it felt like an anvil hanging over her head, but at the same moment was a lifetime away.

It had been so long since she’d felt this much responsibility on her shoulders, and she wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing. That line of the prophecy was worrisome, sure, but not so much as the implication that she would have to make a great decision. The last time that had happened, it hadn’t exactly gone well. But then again, she'd learned not to take prophecies literally and that they didn't always mean what they seemed to.

Her thoughts went round and round in circles, just as her footprints on the sand of the beach of Long Island Sound. The meditative soft crash of the waves on the beach only further encouraged her pacing.

After a while, Kyra stopped walking, staring out at the sea. Nico walked up next to her and stood quietly.

A moment passed. Kyra asked, “What’s the date?” Nico checked his watch, which displayed the date and day as well as the time.

“It’s the twenty-seventh. Why?” She sighed, thinking again for a moment.

“It’s been nine days, Nico, _nine.”_ He gazed out at the water as they walked along the beach.

“Yeah,” he said, trailing off a bit. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

Kyra sighed. That always seemed to be the story. She should’ve known better, though. Even clueless Percy was better at making people feel better than Nico. And she knew why, the son of Hades never felt as though he could help, so he simply didn’t try.

They’d come to Kyra’s favorite place on the beach: a small, secluded piece of land where you could sit with your back against a rock and just think. Nico sat, stretching like a cat in the sunlight on the moonlit rock.

“You never know what to tell me, it seems. You just sit there, taking it all in and doing nothing.” He did exactly that, simply sitting and letting her get her thoughts out. While she knew it was a defensive mechanism that he employed when he felt trapped or cornered, that didn’t help the irritation that set in.

“We worry about you, you know. It isn’t healthy to keep bottling yourself up. You’re a good friend, Nico, but it’s hard to help other people when you won’t accept help yourself. And I know what you’re going to say, so don’t bother. Don’t tell me that you don’t want help, because we both know that’s a lie. You know you need it, but you won’t accept it. It’s very hard on us, sure, but it’s harder on you.” She sat next to him, making eye contact to emphasize her point.

“You know I don’t wear my heart on my sleeve for a reason, Kyra,” he said after a bit of silence. Kyra nodded, settling back against the boulder to watch the stars some more.

“And it’s a really good reason, Nico, but you act like you don’t feel anything, like I said. You don’t freak out, you barely react like a person anymore. I know you have a bad history with emotional outbreaks, but that doesn’t mean you should just lock all of your emotions up in a box and throw away the key. That’s almost worse than what you think is the alternative.”

He smiled slightly at her analogy, but replied, “I love, I hate, I envy, Kyra, I do all of that! I just... hide. It hurts less that way.” She sighed. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard him say that.

“I know it hurts less, but you can’t go through life convincing people that you’re not feeling anything.” Kyra knew it wasn’t perhaps the best time to fight with Nico about his emotional habits, but she couldn’t let her best friend go on a quest like the one they were facing without making sure that he was going to be able to handle it without a mental breakdown. That was what friends were for, after all.

Whether he liked it or not.

“I _feel_ things, Kyra! I just said that!” Kyra raised a black eyebrow as he looked at her, his coffee-colored eyes full of indignation.

“Really? You never seem to show it. You just go around, barely talking and acting like an emotionless robot.” She pushed herself up and knelt, facing him. Kyra knew she was probably going a little too far, but they’d been putting off talking about this for a long time. His eyes flashed dangerously.

“There, finally! You’re angry! At last, an _emotion_ ,” she said sarcastically.

Nico jumped to his feet and his voice rose, loud enough that the pegasi in the stable, which was behind them, could probably hear them arguing. “You don’t understand! Not feeling is better than going through each and every day thinking about my sister, my mother, constantly! I can’t go through that every day, Kyra! I feel so alone, all the time!” Kyra raised her eyebrows, carefully keeping her face void of emotion. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She didn’t want to say anything she’d regret.

“Nico, you’re in the one place where the vast majority of people _would_ understand.” He opened his mouth to argue, and she held up a finger. “You may be the only one who’s from the 1940’s, but you’re not the only one who’s lost a parent, or a sister. Remember who you’re talking to?” He looked a bit ashamed with that.

“It’s hard for people to become friends with someone who won’t allow himself the luxury of having any sort of attachment because he’s so afraid of getting hurt. I understand that fear, trust me. I really do. But there comes a time when you have to stop letting it distract you from what’s important: you. And you, being a human person as you are, half-god or not, need friends to support you. And you have them. You just make it a little hard for us sometimes.” She smiled at him. _Please get the message this time._

He relaxed a bit, and he said, “I’m sorry. It’s just hard sometimes. I feel like no one understands, that no one’s there for me. It’s difficult being from another time.” His head fell back against the rock, and she slid down to join him.

She looked at him sadly. “It’s okay, I really do get it, well other than the whole ‘from another time’ part. I just wish we didn’t have to argue for you to finally understand that I’m here for you, no matter what. So is Annabeth. So is Percy.”

She watched as he struggled to control his emotions, and decided it was time for a new plan of action. “Random question time!” Random Question Time was something that Kyra did when one of her friends was feeling under. It consisted of each person asking the other a question that they themselves also had to answer. He gave a groan. Nico could never come up with a good question. (Or so he thought.)

“Please tell me it’s _your_ turn this time?”

Kyra smiled evilly, giving a clear answer to his question.

“Um. Okay, I think I’ve got a good one this time.” He smiled and winked. “What fictional villain are you most like?” She raised her eyebrows and gasped.

“Oh my gods, alert the media!” He snorted with laughter, and she smiled, continuing, “Nico’s finally come up with a good RQT question!” He looked expectantly at her. She thought for a moment, making a list in her head.

 _Okay, fictional villains… That’s_ hard! _Um. Moriarty? No, haha. Maybe… that’s got a lot of promising qualities, though it’s a little close to home. Maybe Adalind, from Grimm? Oh, I’ve got it!_

“Loki, from _Thor_.  Not from the myths, from the movies.” Nico’s eyebrows disappeared into his hair, and she asked, “What?”

“That’s… really weird… damn.” He looked down, and then challenged, “I invoke my right of explanation!”

She chuckled. “It’s _my_ turn, so it’d be ‘I demand you invoke the right of explanation,’ remember?” He nodded, and then motioned for her to continue. She looked up. “I don’t know, really. I guess… We’re sneaky, manipulative, and compulsive liars.” He gave her a strange look. “And we’re both confused about our family… Our closest parent was killed. We’re both pretty messed up emotionally, and in the end, Loki sacrificed himself for someone he cared about. Well, not really ‘in the end,’ because he didn’t die, but whatever.” There was silence for a moment. “I would like to think I’d do the same.”

Nico shrugged. “That’s really good. You’re completely right… but I wouldn’t think you’d compare yourself to a guy that’s kind of evil…” Nico smirked.

She punched him lightly on the shoulder. “Your turn!”

Nico’s eyes widened. “Damn, I have no clue.” She watched him think. “The Joker?”

She laughed, and he joined in. They kept laughing, something that they hadn’t been able to do for a long time, until Kyra didn’t really even remember what they’d been laughing about anymore.

“It’s nice to be able to just sit and be friends for a little while. Not having to worry about the quest, about responsibility, about war.”

“Stupid monsters. Stupid Titans,” Nico muttered crankily.

Kyra laughed dryly and pulled the tie out of her curly black hair, dropping it down from its ponytail and messing with it a bit to get the shape out.

She slid down the rock again, the worn black leather of her jacket catching on impurities in the stone, and lay on her back, watching the stars. Nico joined her a few moments later, and they lay in silence for a while until Nico looked at his watch, eyes widening. “Oh, _shit!_ ” Kyra sprang to her feet. “It’s past curfew, isn’t it?” He nodded, and Kyra squinted, still seeing Percy and Annabeth on their hill at the other end of the beach, talking and laughing. “We’d better go warn them, Nico.” He smirked, and her eyes widened as she protested, and he laughed evilly, dragging her into the shadows with him. “But I _hate_ shadow travel!”

* * *

_Percy_

If only they didn’t have to worry about the quest, it would’ve been the perfect night. He and Annabeth were peacefully enjoying their evening alone, talking and laughing about various things. Percy noticed the time get later and later, but didn’t care. All he wanted to do was talk to Annabeth.

“I love you, Seaweed Brain.” They were lying on their backs, gazing at the stars, unknowingly mirroring Kyra and Nico.

“I love you, too, Annabeth.” They held hands and simply stared at the stars, millennia of history twinkling away in the skies.

They passed a long time like this, talking and discussing a few times, before Percy heard the distinctive sound of shadow travel. “Nico, you are an asshole!”

 _That’s Kyra,_ realized Percy. _She’s never been a fan of shadow travel._ He laughed at himself, remembering the first time he himself had shadow traveled.

“Well, did you _want_ to get caught out of bed at this hour? Especially the night before a _quest?_ ” Percy’s eyes widened and he checked his watch. _Shit._ Annabeth sat up, dragging Percy with her.

“What are you two doing here?” Annabeth asked, narrowing her eyes. Percy saw Kyra bent over, probably taking deep breaths. She really _did_ hate shadow travel. Nico rolled his eyes at her and shoved it off, coming over to stand in front of them.

“It’s _way_ past curfew, and we’re all out of bed with no way in other than one.” Annabeth groaned, and Percy couldn’t help but agree with her.

None of them were really fond of shadow travel. Well, Percy enjoyed it a little.

Kyra shook her head vehemently. “Once a night is enough for me, thanks.”

Nico stalked over and dragged her to Annabeth and Percy, grabbing onto their arms and transporting them before any grumbling could be heard. They first went to Khione’s cabin, dropping a pissed Kyra, then to Athena’s cabin, where Annabeth collapsed, then to Poseidon’s, where Percy was unceremoniously dumped on his ass as Nico shadow traveled away to his own cabin, laughing.

Percy sighed, then began to prepare for bed.

He dropped onto his bed, curling onto his side and closing his eyes. His last thoughts before he drifted off were those of Annabeth….

* * *

_Percy_

_“Hail Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God.”_

_“I’m Luke, son of Hermes.”_

_“You drool when you sleep.”_

_“Luke stole the lightning bolt.”_

_“I’m Thalia, daughter of Zeus.”_

_“I took this for Nico. Now, I have to pay the price.”_

_“Bianca!”_

_The hero’s soul cursed blade shall reap._

_“Kronos.”_

_“My son.”_

_“All he wanted was to be remembered, to be recognized.”_

**_I can see you, Percy Jackson. I am the Lord of Time, and you shall not defeat me again._ **

Percy awoke with a gasp.

“Oh, _gods_!”

He dressed quickly, grabbing Riptide from his table before flying out the door and sprinting to Annabeth’s cabin. He pounded on the door, and Seth, Annabeth’s brother, answered.

“Yeah, Percy?” He rubbed his eyes, obviously just out of bed.

Percy was bent over, panting. “Annabeth…. Dream… Kronos… now!” Seth’s eyes widened and he looked like he’d been slapped.

“Annabeth! You’d better get over here.”

Percy heard Annabeth jump out of her bed and come over to the door before he saw her, with her blonde hair in a ponytail and weariness in her gray eyes. “What’s wrong, Seaweed Brain? It’s four in the morning.”

Percy had recovered his breath by then, and spoke as quickly as he could. “IadademigodreanKrospokadAnbethIdonthnkhesdeadohmiodswhatehellaregoingtodowearesoscrewed!” Annabeth’s face was a picture of confusion. “Percy. Slow down.” Percy took a deep breath and spoke again. “I had a demigod dream… And Kronos spoke in it. He’s back.”

Annabeth gasped. She stepped out of her cabin and shut the door behind her.

“What did he say? Are you _absolutely sure_ it was Kronos?” Percy nodded frantically, and Annabeth paled.

“We need to go to Chiron.”

* * *

_Annabeth_

Percy and Annabeth ran to the Big House. Annabeth had visited Chiron during the night many times in all her years at camp, and although she knew he wouldn’t be particularly thrilled that they’d interrupted his beauty sleep, this was probably the most important thing she’d ever taken to him at this hour.

“Come on, Percy!” Percy was slowing her down. As much as Annabeth loved him, Percy wasn’t the fastest runner ever. When they reached the steps of the Big House, Annabeth slowed down a bit to let Percy catch up. When he had, she led the way to the room Chiron slept in. Annabeth knocked on the door, and they heard hooves clip-clop slowly over to the door. Chiron opened it. “Yes, Annabeth,” he said blearily, with an almost _resigned_ manner.

Annabeth hurried her speech, just as she’d reprimanded Percy for doing. _Oh, well._ “Percy had a demigod dream. He said Kronos spoke in it. He’s apparently not as gone as we thought.” Chiron’s eyes went wide.

“Chiron, I thought we’d defeated him,” Percy said worriedly.

Chiron beckoned them in. The centaur’s room was as plain as ever. “I thought we had also, young one. The state he was in nine days ago should not have let him even do this. It is indeed worrying.” He turned and walked over to his window. “It is especially worrying that he has managed to reform enough in such a short time. He has help,” Chiron informed them. “Of that, I have no doubt. The only true question is… whom?”

Annabeth’s brow furrowed, her gray eyes narrowing as she thought. “It’s certainly worrying, Chiron. And the night before a big quest. This can’t be good.”

Chiron shook his head slowly. “Not good, indeed.”

Percy looked understandably worried. “What are we going to do?”

Chiron continued to gaze out of his window with a concerned look. “I do not know, Percy. I believe that the only option left to us right now is to wait and see how things turn out. I do not see another path for us to take.” Annabeth sighed. “I suggest that you two return to your beds and leave this to deal with until the morning.” He turned back to them, and the two demigods began to walk to the door.

“I may only say that this gives you but another reason to have care on this quest. This may yet turn out for the better.” He sighed as he opened the door for them, looking his age for once. “And it may turn out to be the most dangerous, and important, quest that has been undertaken for hundreds of years.”

Annabeth and Percy said goodnight to Chiron and walked back to their cabins together. Annabeth couldn’t help but worry for the events that would soon unfold. She was filled with a sense of foreboding that told her that worse things were yet to come.


	4. The Journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for this taking so long to be put up, guys! First my car died, then my computer died, and the reasons go on and on... and on. To make up for it (I hope), here's an extra long chapter :) Hope you enjoy!

The Journey

Chapter 3

* * *

  _It’s not the final destination that matters; it’s the journey you take in getting there._

* * *

 

_Percy_

 

Percy awoke the next morning with a sense of renewed strength and hope. The Son of Poseidon had learned, in light of recent events, that the more positive he was, the better things turned out. Keeping a good attitude before the start of a potentially life-threatening quest seemed a good way to maintain this positivity. Though the news from the previous night about Kronos was perhaps the most worrying thing he had ever heard in his life, and that was saying something, Percy knew that worrying about it would only make him feel worse. He would face the storm when it came, and in the meantime no use crying over spilled blue Pepsi.

He hadn’t done any packing the night before, and it was eight o’clock, only an hour and a half until he had to meet the rest of the quest group in the amphitheater. Percy quickly dressed and lay his backpack on his bed. The backpack was a simple thing, dark brown, with lots of room and quite a few pockets. After he set it down, he noticed something weird: a strange trunk, like the kind you travel with, was sitting over by the door to his cabin.

It was dark, dark green, so dark that it almost looked black. Percy’s name was inscribed on the lid of the trunk in deep gold Greek lettering that seemed to shimmer like the sun reflecting on the waves, and the inside of the trunk was lined with what appeared to be ocean sponge that appeared moist but was dry to the touch. It was pretty clear who the giver of this gift was.

 _Thanks, Dad,_ Percy thought. One of the things that Chiron had mentioned they’d need was a trunk.

Percy packed clothes in the trunk, along with some extra drachmas, a home-made New York poster that depicted the Empire State Building with stormy clouds and a golden light at the top to represent Olympus, drawn and given to him by Rachel, his shield from Tyson, and some armor just in case. In his backpack, he made sure to add his iPod and a book Chiron had gifted each of them with that contained information on wizards and magic -  written in Ancient Greek, thank the gods. Percy’s canteen of nectar and some squares of ambrosia had gone in the backpack the previous night.

When Percy had gathered everything that he needed, which had taken much less time than he anticipated, he hefted the backpack up onto his shoulders and pulled the trunk out the door, swearing nastily when it bounced off the step and landed on his toe. The trunk was heavy even though he had put only clothes, albeit all the ones he had at Camp, a poster, and a shield in it.

Percy turned back to the door to close it, and a bad feeling grew in his stomach when he saw a note on it. He was relieved to see that it was only a note from Chiron saying that they could bring an animal to assist in the quest, if they wanted. Percy decided that he didn’t want, and headed for the amphitheater.

* * *

_Percy_

Percy was rudely awakened an hour later by a voice in his ear.

“Rise and shine, Fish Face.” He jumped, swinging a fist out at the blurry face he saw as he woke. His fist just barely met flesh; he heard a soft and very female sound of pain. Percy, now fully awake, saw that it was Kyra he’d just socked in the face, and that she was holding her cheek, laughing. “ Damn, Jackson, you’ve got a nice right hook!”

“Oh my gods, Kyra, I’m so sorry!” Percy reached out to help her as she laughed at him. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Percy, really. You barely got me.” She pulled her hand from her face, and he saw a red mark about the size of a one-dimensional softball painted on her cheek. “See?” She put a finger to it and concentrated, and ice grew over the mark. A few seconds later it melted, leaving only pale skin in its place.

“I’ve been working on developing that power. I can heal minor stuff, but Chiron’s been saying that if I work hard enough, maybe I can get up to the level you have with the water. Isn’t that cool?”

“Yeah, that’s awesome, Kyra! Are you sure you’re okay?” Percy was genuinely worried for his friend, but Kyra just laughed again, making a gesture with her hand that he took to mean, ‘Forget it.’

“It was my fault, Percy. I got all up in your personal space. I should’ve expected something like that. Don’t worry about it. You should’ve seen your face, though,” she said, grinning in memory. He could tell that she was sincere in her assurances despite the teasing, and gave a small smile that she returned before grabbing his arm and dragging him up from his seat at the back of the amphitheater.

“What time is it, Kyra?” Percy knew it must be nearly meeting time, since Kyra wouldn’t have bothered him otherwise. She shrugged.

“Nine-forty or so. Annabeth told me to come get you.” She pointed and Percy saw the other six demigods congregated on the ground in front of the seats with their things. “Come on, slowpoke!” She ran down the stairs two at a time and jogged over to stand by her own trunk and black backpack, beckoning for him to join them.

Thalia, who was sitting on her stormy blue trunk, silver tiara in its place, teased him as he came to stand by his own, which was near Annabeth’s.  “Wow, Fish Face, I can’t believe you were the first one here and you’re still late.” Kyra, Clarisse, and Nico chuckled at Thalia while Chiron walked over to their little group.

“Yeah, hello to you too, Thalia,” Percy snarked, rolling his eyes.

Percy looked around and noticed that everyone else’s trunks had to be gifts from their parents as well. Kyra’s trunk was a weird, dark, white-silver color that reminded him strongly of blizzard snow, Annabeth’s was a deep, rich purple - the color of wisdom - Thalia’s was storm-cloud blue, to match with Zeus, Nico’s was black with a bit of white on the trim, Clarisse’s was a deep, shocking red that Percy actually found very beautiful, and the Stolls’ were a matching light blue, the same color as the eyes they shared with their father, though each brother’s trunk did have a distinguishing mark on it. They were symbols Percy didn’t recognize that he assumed must’ve meant something important to Connor and Travis.

Only then he noticed that three people had apparently wanted to bring an animal, as offered by Chrion’s note. Thalia’s trunk was beneath a bird cage that contained a beautiful eagle, of a kind with which Percy wasn’t familiar. It was big, maybe about thigh-high on Percy, a little bigger than most owls. Its head and shoulders were blackish, with a crest on its head, while its under-wings, chest, and legs were reddish brown. Its tail was white and gray. Thalia caught him staring, and he gave her a curious look. She explained, “Black-and-chestnut eagle. Name’s Storm.” That made sense, since her father’s symbol was an eagle. Percy presumed that Thalia could converse with Storm for this reason.

There was another bird cage on top of Annabeth’s trunk, which contained what Percy recognized as a full-grown barn owl. The owl looked down its beak at Percy with an almost-human expression of disdain. Annabeth laughed, winking at him, and he chuckled. The barn owl’s name was Penelope (Penny for short) and Annabeth had been friends with her since long before she met Percy. Penny had never liked Percy, once even clawing him viciously on the arm. Penny and Annabeth enjoyed long conversations discussing owls and how they were affected by the human world.

Kyra’s animal very obviously wasn’t a bird, since the carrier wasn’t a cage. Owl, cat, or toad. So what’s in there, thought Percy. It looked like a cat carrier…. Oh. Percy realized that it had to have been Kyra’s Himalayan cat, Siobhan. The cat had been their family pet: a gift to her father, Ciaran, from her mother, when Kyra’s brother Seamus was born.  Percy personally thought that Khione had blessed the cat to live a long time, since she didn’t show any signs of old age. Khione seemed to have favored the Blair family quite a lot, in Percy’s opinion. Maybe because Kyra and Seamus were the oldest of her living children, being as she stopped having half-blood kids for a long time.

Siobhan the cat was the typical Himalayan, with gray fur that extended nearly two inches from her skin, and a flat face. Kyra, like Annabeth and Thalia, could speak to her animal. Since Himalayans are originally from cold, snowy climates, they were animals in Khione’s jurisdiction, like how Percy could understand fish as well as the horses his dad created.

All of the other demigods were also carrying a backpack, and were very clearly dressed for a quest. Percy was simply wearing his Camp shirt and tan cargo shorts with a light green rain jacket so he wouldn't look suspicious in England, since everyone knew it was always raining there. The others wore their various styles, of course. They had obviously prepared for London as well.

Annabeth had on a plain white t-shirt and light blue, fitted jean capris, and her white tennis shoes made for running, with her blonde hair in a side braid and gray rain jacket over her arm. The beads of her Camp necklace were visible over her shirt, and she was wearing little diamond studs that glinted in the sunlight. Percy thought that she couldn’t look more gorgeous than she did right then, waiting calmly for a quest that any one of them could die on as if she were standing at a bus stop.  

Clarisse was wearing a short-sleeved dark brown shirt with dark blue jeans that were tucked into half-calf-length combat boots. Her brown hair was in a ponytail. She had a black rain jacket tied around her waist. She was simply standing around, looking generally annoyed with the world as usual. Percy looked a little closer and noticed a second chain around her neck with her Camp necklace, but Clarisse shifted as if she’d caught him looking.

Thalia wore her Hunter’s circlet and silver Hunter parka, which had shape-shifted into a light rain jacket, with a Green Day t-shirt, black jeans, and silver boots to match the parka. She also, as always, bore the shield Aegis on her wrist. Thalia exuded an overall air of ‘I don’t care who you are, if you fuck with me I will kill you,’ a normal thing for her.

Kyra was also predictable, donning the leather jacket that had been a gift from her mother in the form of a black raincoat. Under it she wore a dark blue short-sleeved shirt and jeans, and on her feet were the black leather boots that carried her twin Celestial Bronze daggers.

Nico was wearing dark clothes, as always, with his aviator’s jacket peeking out of his backpack. He wore jeans, black sneakers, and a gray shirt, and was turning his skull ring like he did when he was anxious. He looked worried, or maybe sad about something. What, Percy didn't know.

Percy felt like he was missing something, and resolved to ask Annabeth if she knew what was up later.  

Travis wore jeans, a gray raincoat, and a blue Camp shirt (they’d petitioned for the camp shirts to come in all colors), while Connor wore jeans and a gray Camp shirt, with a blue raincoat. The brothers certainly had inherited their father's mischievous looks, but currently the duo's conspiring huddle didn't seem so prankster-like. It was more as if the sons of Hermes were getting ready for battle. It seemed fitting, Percy supposed. This would be a dangerous quest, after all. He was sure, though, that this fact wouldn't stop the Stolls from getting into some sort of shenanigans while they were all away. Nothing would.

Percy’s attention snapped back to Chiron as the centaur walked over to the group. “I assume that everyone is ready?” He received nods from all of the demigods, and smiled. “I have a few more things to inform you of before you may leave. First, is buying your supplies for Hogwarts. You shall not be participating as students, but there are things you are going to need.” The demigods paid careful attention.

“You shall be using the Floo Network, which I shall explain momentarily, to travel to the Leaky Cauldron, which is a pub in Wizarding London. This is where you shall stay until September first, when you will board the train to Hogwarts.

“At the Leaky Cauldron, you will meet the owner, Tom, when you leave the fireplace.” The group gave him looks of confusion, and Chiron held up a hand, signalling for them to wait. “You shall put your things in your rooms and walk with Tom out the back way, where he shall tap the bricks in a pattern. The wall will move apart by magic, and you shall be in Diagon Alley, the place where students may buy their materials. Tom shall then leave you to yourselves.” The demigods looked alarmed, and Chiron chuckled. “Do not worry. The signs on the buildings are large, and the stores themselves are quite recognizable. As long as you stay on the main street, you shall be fine.”

He walked around to them, giving each a list of supplies. Percy glanced down at his, raising an eyebrow at the strange list.  

“This year at Hogwarts, there is a special event being held, called the Triwizard Tournament. I spoke with the headmaster of Hogwarts last night, and it seems that they are adding one more school to the tournament: ours. The three of you named in the prophecy shall participate.” Kyra turned and raised an eyebrow at Percy, as if to say, ‘that means you.’  He stuck his tongue out at her. “He is, as I mentioned last night, aware of the fact that you are demigods.  

“There are four adult demigod wizards at the school. Their names are Minerva McGonagall, daughter of Athena, Severus Snape, son of Hermes, Pomona Sprout, daughter of Demeter, and Filius Flitwick, son of Athena. They are the House Heads, of the Houses I spoke of last night. Professor McGonagall of Gryffindor, Professor Sprout of Hufflepuff, Professor Flitwick of Ravenclaw, and Professor Snape of Slytherin. Respectively, they teach the Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms, and Potions classes.” Annabeth raised her eyebrows. Even knowing her so well, it was still difficult for Percy to tell apart her “I’m excited” expression from her “I’m going to take you down” expression, so he wasn’t exactly sure what she was feeling.

“There are also four young demigods from wizard families at the school, that you already know, one for each House. I’m sure you all remember Draco, Justin, Luna, and Neville?” Everyone but Thalia and Nico knew them. Luna was Annabeth’s half-sister, Draco the Stolls’, and Justin was yet another Aeolus child. Neville, however, was a son of Demeter. They’d all been sent on a long-term quest nearly four years ago, and had been back to Camp only once, (that was when Percy had met them) though they’d sent letters, delivered by owl. They’d never stated their mission, and now Percy knew why.

“Draco went to Slytherin, Justin to Hufflepuff, Luna to Ravenclaw, and Neville to Gryffindor. You eight shall not be revealed until, as in the prophecy, you are found out. If that does not occur by the middle of October, which is unnecessary to prepare for as it is mentioned in the prophecy, you shall reveal yourselves. At that time, the other four shall join you. You may speak to them before that, but they shall have responsibilities you do not. I wish you to read your lists now, silently, and then I shall continue. They also contain important information about your stay at Hogwarts.” Chiron stood silent as the demigods read.

Percy was delighted to notice, as he stared, that the list was written in Greek. Words were written behind each item that Percy assumed were the store names. Percy quickly read the list, noting the strange requests made of them. The writing was in a flowing script that Percy did not recognize.

_Things to Buy_

  * _Wand, (Ollivanders)_


  * _Three sets of black robes, outer only, for everyday wear, (Madam Malkin’s)_


  * _One formal dress/suit, supplied by Aphrodite when necessary_


  * _One book of your choice on Wizarding history to be read before arrival, (Flourish and Blott’s)_


  * _The Standard Book of Spells, years 1-4,  (Flourish and Blott’s)_


  * _Any other spell books you may wish to buy, (at same.)_



_Important Notices_

_You are, as a quest, heading to Hogwarts as a part of the Triwizard Tournament, an ancient event that has only recently been reinstated. Historically, the Tournament consisted of the three most prominent schools of magic in Europe, (Hogwarts School, Beaubatons Academy, and Durmstrang Institute) gathering together for a time of international frivolity and competition. Those other two schools are participating in this Tournament as well. The Triwizard Tournament contains three very dangerous tasks, and one brave champion from each school to take part in these tasks._

_The champions are chosen by a very powerful magical object called the Goblet of Fire. Hopefuls enter their name into the Goblet, and on a chosen night, three names are given, chosen by the Goblet as worthy. As Camp is special, given that you are each from a different god, three champions shall be chosen, one each from three cabins. Though all of you shall enter your names, as the prophecy predicted, those chosen shall be Ms. Grace, Mr. di Angelo, and Mr. Jackson. Ms. Grace shall participate in the first task, Mr. Jackson in the second, and Mr. di Angelo in the third._

_You shall arrive before the other two schools, as your primary job is to protect Mr. Potter, but like the other schools, you shall not participate in classes as students. Playing the ignorant Americans - until your reveal, and then you shall truly be the curious demigods - at least one of you you shall attend every class with Harry Potter, learning as you go. I have gifted you the ability to use magic because while I may not be able to see your exact future, I foresee you needing to learn some magic in order for your quest to succeed. Therefore, you may participate in classes if you wish, but at the professor’s discretion, and to your detriment if you fail. Good luck, demigods._

_You’ll need it._

_Hecate, Goddess of Magic_

When Percy folded his note and put it in the back pocket of his jeans, he noticed that Annabeth and Kyra (the avid readers) were already looking about, obviously finished, their letters hidden away. Percy pondered the information in the letter as Thalia, then Clarisse, then Connor, then Nico, and finally Travis slowly finished. When they’d all looked up at him, Chiron spoke again. “As you can tell, your quest has sparked a note of interest in Lady Hecate. She has blessed you, gifting you with basic knowledge of magic and wizards, but the things in the note are still necessary. When you are confronted with a term, you shall know what it is, but only if someone of equal skill in magic to your skill as demigods would know it. I would assume that this means that all of you should be of an equal skill to the sixth years you are equivalent to.”

Percy raised his eyebrows, and he heard Thalia softly whisper, “That’s useful,” in Kyra’s direction. Chiron continued. “Now, I was disturbed early in the morning today by Mr. Jackson and Ms. Chase.” He looked pointedly at Annabeth, who blushed slightly. “It seems that Kronos is not as gone as we’d hoped. From the information I’ve been able to gain, it seems that he is not only… around , but is planning something.” There was outcry from the other six, who had various stages of resignation, rage, and confusion, including swearing and several instances of the punching of innocent pillars.

When they’d all finally controlled themselves, Chiron spoke again. “And this is all we know. We do not know where he is, what he is doing, or whether or not he has a spy,” Thalia whispered, ‘Oh, crap,’ and Kyra nodded, eyes wide. “We do not even know when he will strike, only that he will. You must be prepared, you must be cautious, and above all, you must remember that while the borders of Hogwarts are strong, they cannot hold against a powerful monster.”

There was muttering, and then Chiron seemed to compose himself. “Now, to get you there. You’ll be traveling by the Floo.” Percy raised an eyebrow. _What in Hades is ‘Floo?’_

He must have said that aloud, as there were a few chuckles and Chiron said, “To answer Percy’s excellent question, the Floo Network is one of the wizards’ transportation methods, in which you use a special kind of powder in a fireplace. If we may,’ he said, quickly leading them to a completely out-of-place hearth - hastily erected, by the look of things - that had obviously been built for this purpose. They took their things along with them. _How did I not notice this before?_

“You each must take a small handful of this powder, and throw it into the flames. Then you shall step into the fire - the powder renders the flames harmless - and clearly state your destination - it will be ‘The Leaky Cauldron’ - and the fire will take you there. From then on, well, you all know the procedure.”

Said flames instantly jumped up into a blaze, dancing around and crackling merrily. Percy looked instantly to Kyra, and noticed Nico and Annabeth do the same. Her eyes had widened almost comically, and she was slowly backing up from the fireplace, shaking her head.

Percy knew that fire was a major phobia for Kyra, which made sense with her parentage. Though she could protect herself perfectly fine from the fire with warning, it was also her greatest weakness, as she, being a daughter of Khione, was basically made of ice. Kyra was hard to burn, what with her powers, but if it did end up touching her skin, it hurt her far worse than it would any of them in a similar situation, and caused awful pain.

That wasn’t the only reason she hated it, feared it, he knew, it was actually mostly about the fact that it was fire. Kyra embodied ice, at least half of her did, and so her opposite element was fire same as Percy. Hephaestus fire-users and Khione ice-children - only demigods as powerful as or more powerful than Kyra could be called such - well, it was simpler to say that they didn’t generally cross paths in battle, because when they did it caused massive problems. Therefore explaining why Kyra Blair, ice-child of Khione, and Leo Valdez, fire-user of Hephaestus, were required to be on the same team in Capture the Flag.

Percy watched Nico sneak over to her while Chiron gave Annabeth the history of the Floo to answer her suddenly rapid-fire questions. Percy really loved that about his girlfriend, that she would do anything to protect her friends. He watched Nico put a hand on Kyra’s arm, and she looked at him, fear evident in her eyes. Percy saw them argue furiously for a moment, and then, with an ashen face, Kyra seemed to give in, nodding.

Chiron finished his explanation, and then said, “Any volunteers to go first?” Nico raised a hand. “Chiron, can two people go together?” Chiron nodded. “This fireplace is large enough to allow that, so yes. Would you and Ms. Blair wish to go first?” Nico spoke softly to Kyra, who nodded stiffly. They took their things and walked to the fireplace. Kyra flinched hard when an ember came soaring out of the merrily crackling fire towards her. Percy noticed a flash of white, and then realized she must’ve put up a protective shield of ice instinctively.

“Take only a palm-full, you will not need much.”

They both took the amount and, under Chiron’s instructions, threw it into the flames, which instantly turned a rather bright shade of green that managed to almost perfectly match the pigment that currently colored Kyra’s face.

“Come on,” he heard Nico intone softly, watching the daughter of Khione patiently. She took a deep breath and stepped into the flames with him, both taking their things with them. “The Leaky Cauldron,” they both said, Kyra with a bit of a stutter. They disappeared, whirling away, and the flames jumped back down to their normal size, though they were still green.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Percy heard Connor whisper to Travis, who chuckled. They went next, whirling off into the flames. Thalia and Clarisse ( Strange pair, thought Percy) went next, and before Percy knew it, he and Annabeth were each grabbing a small amount of the powder. They stepped into the flames, and each said, “The Leaky Cauldron!” There was a great amount of spinning and coughing (he’d gotten some soot up his nose) and sputtering, and then they were unceremoniously dumped out of a different fireplace onto the floor. Percy’s gaze followed the shoes up until he saw Thalia’s smirking face. “Been standing long, Fish Face?”

“Oh, shut up, Thalia.” Percy stood, looking around. They were in what appeared to be the main room of an inn. The room was decorated in dark colors, and the large picture windows on the wall showed dismal, stormy weather. Soft, warm light came from various candles spread throughout the room, giving it a homey feel.

“You must be the delegations from Camp Half-blood,” came a British voice from nearby. Percy turned to see a rather ordinary-looking mortal _-wizard_ , he corrected himself - with a bald head and dark eyes, standing in a doorway about ten feet from the group of demigods. “If you would please follow me. You can leave your luggage here.”

* * *

  _Annabeth_

The demigods  did as they were told, following the wizard down a corridor and through a door into a dimly-lit room. Here, the wizard gestured to a group of chairs set in a line against the wall. The demigods sat, and the wizard began to speak. “I know that you all must have more than a few questions. We have some time, so feel free to pose them as you will.”

Annabeth looked at the group each in turn. Each member looked back at her with an expression that clearly said, _we trust you._ She took a breath. She could do this, of course she could.

“Well sir, I think it might be a good idea for us to get out and begin with our instructions. If we come across any questions, may I assume we can come talk to you then?” Annabeth watched as the wizard’s face lit up.

“Absolutely! Allow me to show you to your rooms so you may attend to your things.” He beckoned them to follow him back to where they’d left their stuff. _Well, that trip was kind of pointless._

The demigods followed the wizard into what was clearly the main room of the inn, decorated with many chairs and tables, picture windows, and torches. The architecture was fantastic. If Annabeth had to guess, she would say that the building was constructed in the early 1500’s. It was beautifully preserved, an effect she was sure stemmed from the use of magic.

The wizard led them upstairs and presented them with four rooms with two beds each, only adding that his name was Tom and that they should find him when they wanted to enter the Alley.

“So who’s sharing rooms,” asked Clarisse.

They quickly divided into rooms. Thalia with Clarisse, Percy with Annabeth of course, Travis and Connor together, and Nico with Kyra. After they’d entered their own room, Percy turned to her as she began to store her things.

“Are Kyra and Nico a thing?” Annabeth looked at him like he was crazy. _Does he not know?_

“Kyra may swing both ways, but Nico’s all for the boys, Seaweed Brain. How do you not know that?” Percy looked flabbergasted and sputtered as he stored his trunk by his bed and finished up.

“Wait, what? How do _you_ know that?” Annabeth rolled her eyes as she made sure she had everything she needed on her.

“Nico and Will have been making googly-eyes at each other for months, Percy. Your head would have to be full of kelp for you to miss it. Oh wait,” she quipped, pecking him on the cheek as he feigned ignoring her. “Well, you know now. Just don’t be weird about it. Remember in Nico’s time it was very dangerous to be gay. He's a little sensitive about it.”

Percy nodded, taking her hand to lead her out of the room. “I’m not a complete idiot.”

Annabeth followed, closing the door behind her with a wink at him. “I know.”

* * *

  _Percy_

After they had all joined the innkeeper, Tom, downstairs, he declared that they should follow him. He took them out the back door into a sort of little alleyway with a trash can leaning against a brick wall. The wizard took out his wand and reached to tap a brick on the wall, stopping before he reached it. He turned to them, explaining, “You’ll need to know in the future, from what Chiron said. To enter the Alley, you tap the brick three up and two across from this rubbish bin with your wand. Then, the following will happen.” Tom turned back and tapped the brick.

The bricks started moving, turning to begin to create what Percy guessed would be an archway. He looked over at Annabeth who, predictably, was fascinated by the wall. When the bricks had all stopped moving, each demigod had a look of wonder on their face, even Nico “hide-my-emotions” Di Angelo.

Diagon Alley was amazing. There were closely-packed buildings on each side, and small kiosks selling things out front. It was full of a huge crowd; it was like Times Square on a busy night. The buildings were colorful, with some being small and some being large. They all had huge signs out front announcing their name, and they must’ve been magic because Percy had no trouble reading them. _Flourish and Blotts’, Quality Quidditch Supplies, The Magical Menagerie,_ and many more. At the end of the road, as far as he could see, was a humongous white building. It had many pillars and looked like marble, and was the tallest building Percy could see. He couldn’t read the sign out front, but it was official-looking. Annabeth must be in heaven. Percy took her hand, and she grinned at him.

As they were all beginning to walk into the Alley, Tom stopped them. “Before you go, remember to get your money from Gringotts, the bank at the end there. And I might suggest that your second stop be Ollivanders, for wands. Good luck demigods, and feel free to come back to the inn whenever you are done.” _Bank_? Tom walked back into the Leaky Cauldron.

“Wait, what’s he talking about? What money?” Kyra asked the question that Percy had been about to.

Annabeth laughed, “Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you guys. Chiron told me. Apparently there’s an emergency account at Gringotts, the wizard bank, for demigods in case a situation like this ever happened. Evidently there’s a small fortune in there accrued from interest, so we should have plenty however long we end up having to stay." Everyone else was looking at her, flabbergasted. "Oh, don't be so surprised."

* * *

The first place they went was Gringotts, the bank. As it was at the very end of the Alley, the demigods had to pass many witches and wizards to get there. The thing that Percy noticed first was the weird way they dressed. They were all in multicolored robes, pointed hats, and fancy shoes. It seemed kind of weird, considering the fact that it was still rather warm outside and those robes must have been sweltering.

Though Percy supposed he couldn't judge since they still wore Greek armor however many centuries later.

When they finally reached the end of the Alley, they came up to the steps of Gringotts. As they walked up, Percy noticed a sign by the door, saying:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Will pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Percy was a bit taken aback by that, considering how harsh and threatening it sounded. He fell back to Connor and Travis at the back of the group and quipped, "I'd suggest not stealing anything from here," in Travis' ear. Travis told his brother what Percy had said, and they both assumed expressions that he assumed were meant to be innocent. 

"Don't worry, Percy," Connor said, "We'll be good." He finished his sentence with a wicked grin and Travis winked at Percy. Percy rolled his eyes and jogged to catch up with Annabeth, who was standing by the door waiting for the group to catch up.

Once everyone had reached the door, Annabeth pushed it open, and everyone gasped. Not all of the group had the inclination to loving architecture like Annabeth, but every single one of them could appreciate the interior of Gringotts Bank. 

The place was gigantic. The ceiling soared high above their heads, with magnificent shining chandeliers and gold leaf laid into the ceiling. Rows of desks with scales, ink and quills, and stacks of gold, silver, and bronze coins lined the walkway on either side. At least thirty goblins were spread out, among the desks and walking around on the large marble walkway. They were short, with long ears and wrinkly skin. They had pointed teeth and long nails that weren't talons but resembled them. Percy supposed they must be intimidating to people who had never fought a hydra. 

He followed as Annabeth walked them up to the main desk at the end of the walkway, where a goblin that appeared to be medium-sized sat staring at them. When they reached it, the daughter of Athena pulled a key out of her pocket and set it on the counter in front of the goblin and set her shoulders back, assuming her  _I want to seem intimidating_ posture she usually reserved for enemies. 

"We are the delegation from Camp Half-Blood, and we wish to make a withdrawal from the Delta Vault," she said in a serious, calm voice. Percy watched the goblin closely. At first he looked surprised, but then schooled his expression.

"Grinak!" The goblin called, beckoning a goblin that looked quite old over to the group, "These are the ones sent by the Delta in New York. Please take them where they need to go and explain." The goblin nodded and waved the demigods to follow him. They did so, and he took them through a door that led to what looked to Percy like a roller coaster and a mine cart. He glanced back at Thalia, who looked a tad green.  

Kyra winked at him and pulled Thalia off to the side. Percy entrusted Thalia to the daughter of Khione's care and pulled his attention back to the goblin. 

"The cart will fit all of you, if you will enter we can begin." They all - including Thalia - followed the goblin's instructions and entered the cart, with a few raised eyebrows as it hadn't quite seemed big enough before they'd entered it. 

The goblin pulled a lever and the cart tore off down twists and turns, clearly terrifying Thalia and reminding Percy vaguely of shadow travel, though his earlier comparison of the cart to a roller coaster had been accurate. Percy enjoyed it, and was a little sad when the ride was over and the goblin asked them to step out. 

"The Delta Vault," he began as they walked along a corridor that looked ancient, "was the first vault of Gringotts. It is at the deepest level, and has the most protections. Follow my instructions, and you will stay safe." Percy, who usually had trouble paying attention to instructions, resolved that maybe this time it would be just a tad more important. 

After walking along the corridor in virtual silence for a while, they reached a much larger room and all of the demigods called out in surprise, prompting an extremely nasty look from the goblin that shut them all up immediately. 

A large dragon, covered in scars and clearly blind, was chained to the floor in the large room, appearing to protect a large door that lay beyond. The goblin walked over to a small chest that Percy hadn't noticed before. He opened it and came away with a few weird-looking objects that he handed to Annabeth, Nico, and Connor. He told them to shake them, and when they did they started making a noise that sounded like hammers on stone. 

The dragon sank to the side, making noises that sounded as though they stemmed from fear. Percy suspected that the dragon had been conditioned to feel fear when the objects were used. 

The goblin lead them to the door that Percy had noticed earlier, which he now saw was marked with a huge delta symbol that took up most of the door. The goblin took his finger and ran it down the door, prompting the door to unlock quite loudly. 

"If anyone that wasn't a goblin tried that, they would be sucked through the door," said the goblin. Percy raised his eyebrows.

"Do you ever check to see if anyone gets stuck?" he asked. The goblin grinned nastily. 

"Once every ten years."

Percy made stunned eye contact with Annabeth and resolved to move on. 

The vault's door swung open and the demigods gasped at the amount of coins inside. The vault was huge, as big as three cabins put together. There were huge mounds of gigantic gold coins, piles of silver, and many hills of the small bronze ones. The goblin explained, leading them into the doorway, that the gold ones were called Galleons, the silver Sickles, and the bronze Knuts. There were 17 Sickles to a Galleon and 29 Knuts to a Sickle. Percy knew he would never remember that. He hoped Annabeth did. 

Annabeth took off her backpack, which Percy somehow hadn't known she was wearing. She filled it with gold and silver coins, which must have made it weigh a ton, but she didn't show any signs of bodily stress so Percy assumed she must've been able to handle it. 

Once she was done with the vault, the goblin lead them back out to the minecart, and the ride seemed to go by in no time at all on the return journey. Before Percy knew it, they were back in the main room and had left the bank. 

"Off to Ollivanders we go," said Annabeth, leading the group to their next destination. 

"We're gonna be here forever, aren't we," groaned Travis. 

Percy couldn't help agreeing. 

 


	5. Wandering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good God, guys. I'm so sorry. I know there aren't many of you reading this, but I still apologize times a million. My life got really crazy there for a few weeks, but I swear on my life that I'm back now. Hope you like this chapter <3

Wandering

Chapter 4

* * *

_No decision should be made on an empty shopping bag._

* * *

_Percy_

Annabeth squinted at the requirement list. “So, next on the list is wands. We have to go to someplace called Ollivanders. Anybody see it?” They all looked around, and Percy spotted a sign. It took a second for his dyslexia to make it out, but eventually figured out what it said, “Maker of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.” and right next to it another panel read “Ollivanders”. For some reason, he'd struggled only to read the first panel. 

“Found it! Let’s go,” he said, leading the group across the alley and down a bit. Annabeth entered the store first, and a little bell jingled as the door swung shut behind the group.

The shop was tiny, with barely enough room for the entire group of demigods to stand in front of the counter. A small, spindly, unsturdy-looking chair sat in the corner by an empty coat rack and a dusty side table. There was a sudden noise, and Percy’s hand clutched Riptide in his pocket.

But it was simply an old man, with unsettling golden eyes that reminded Percy - unpleasantly - of Kronos’. The old man came up behind the counter, and peered at them suspiciously. “I am Garrick Ollivander, the owner of this wand shop. You are the demigods.”

It was very clearly not a question, and Annabeth nodded slowly. “Yes, sir. We wish to purchase a wand each.”

“Well, yes, of course you do,” responded Ollivander sarcastically, “Why else would you be here? The first one of you, step forward.”

They all looked at each other until Connor pushed Travis forward and the decision was made. “He’ll go first,” Connor said cheekily while Travis glared at him and looked a bit uncertainly at Ollivander. Travis must have been nervous, because Percy had never seen him look anything but devious and scheming before.

“Stand still,” ordered Ollivander, and Travis did. Ollivander went bustling about the shelves while a tape measure that Percy assumed was enchanted busied itself taking different measurements of Travis.

“Wands choose the wizard, or in this case demigod. Wand-and-owner pairings come down to a combination of factors, including wand wood, core, length, and flexibility. Ah,” he said, pulling down a box and removing a stick that Percy assumed was a wand.

“Now, with demigods or wizard demigods, your godly parent is also a consideration. May I guess, boy, that you are the progeny of Hermes?”

Travis looked a little shocked, but seemed to shake himself and recover his normal demeanor. “Is it that obvious?” he snarked, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows.

The old man simply cocked his head. “You godly types are always the most difficult to match. Here,” he said, bringing Travis the wand he had retrieved. “Hawthorn and phoenix feather, 11 ½ inches, extremely bendy. Give it a wave and try to avoid anything that is made of glass.”

Travis waved the wand at the bookshelves and one of the wand boxes exploded outwards, causing Ollivander to duck as it flew towards the demigods and smacked Connor in the face. Everyone laughed at Connor, who was laying on the ground grumbling and obviously fine.

Ollivander, who had not taken part in the laughing, furrowed his eyebrows and said, “Apparently not,” taking the wand back from Travis and retrieving another in about two seconds flat. “Here,” he said, shoving it in Travis’ hand. “Dogwood with a tail hair of a unicorn, 10 ½ inches, quite supple.”

Travis took the wand in his hand, and a golden glow emitted from where his hand touched the wand. From the look on Travis’ face, even Percy knew this was the one. And Ollivander confirmed his hunch. 

“Ah, yes. This is the one. I suppose we shall wait to collect the bill until you all have gone?” He directed this question at Annabeth, who nodded.

“Thalia, you next,” said Clarisse, smirking at the daughter of Zeus, who shrugged, put down her things, and sauntered up to the counter.

Ollivander took one look at her with his creepy eyes and said, “I know just the one for you, daughter of Zeus.” No one knew how he knew her godly parent.

He came back quickly, and said, “Red oak with a phoenix feather, 12 ½ inches, pliant.”

Thalia took the wand and the same thing happened that had with Travis. This guy was starting to impress Percy.

After Thalia, Percy kind of zoned out. He had already decided on going last, so he only really paid attention when people matched with their wands. Annabeth went next and it only took three tries for her to match with Hornbeam, phoenix feather core, 11 inches, reasonably supple, whereas Nico took _forever_ to find one, but ended up happy with Blackthorn and dragon heartstring, 10 ½ inches, brittle.

Connor went after Nico, wrecking things with a few wands before he found his own: Spruce with a unicorn tail hair core like his brother, 10 ½ inches, supple. Clarisse went next, and like Thalia she was an instant match with Pine and dragon heartstring core, 9 inches, slightly unyielding.

Kyra went right before Percy, and she was the first one that Ollivander had to ask the godly parent. “Khione,” she sighed, “The only one who’s not a major god or goddess.”

Ollivander smiled at her. “Sometimes the most brittle, small, beaten-down tree can produce the best wands. Do not let your mother’s standing predict yours.”

And then he was gone to the back. All of them looked bewildered, Kyra the most so. He was back in an instant, and held the wand carefully. “This should do it. Maple with phoenix tail feather core, 12 ¾ inches, swishy.”

And like all the others, there came a golden glow and Kyra’s face lit up. And then it was Percy’s turn.

Ollivander knew him at once. “Ah. Son of Poseidon. I have heard of all of you, but you I know the most. Still,” he said, peering closer into Percy’s eyes - which made him very uncomfortable - “I wonder.”

He came back quickly, bearing, “Cedar with unicorn tail hair, 11 inches, reasonably supple.” Percy took it, gave it a wave, and knocked a book off of a shelf. Ollivander look confused, then pleased. “Well, then. Curious.”

“What’s curious,” asked Percy, but the old man was already gone.

“Cedar with phoenix tail feather, 12 inches, quite bendy.”

When Percy took this wand, his fingers got warm and the air began to smell of the sea breeze on Montauk beach. It was a wonderful feeling, and he knew that this wand was his. It was a blur as Annabeth paid and ushered them out of the shop. It was only after they'd left that Percy remembered that he'd forgotten to ask what was so curious about his wand.  _Oh well,_ he thought,  _no use worrying about it now._

* * *

“According to the list, we all have to get robes from some place called Madam Malkin’s. I think we should maybe head there next, yeah?” said Kyra, putting down her list to look around. Percy shrugged as her eyes passed over him, then spotted it over her shoulder. 

“Oh hey, it’s over there. Might as well since it’s right there, probably.” Percy took Annabeth’s hand, pecking her on the cheek as the group moved off to the robe shop. Annabeth blushed, and Percy realized again how beautiful she was.

“You know, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being able to call you my girlfriend,” he said, smiling at her, which seemed to cause her to turn even more of a tomato red. She was also distracted enough that she ran into someone who was bustling by on their shopping.

“Oh, I’m so sorry ma’am!” she said to the woman, who turned and smiled at her with bright eyes. She appeared to be middle-aged, with warm brown eyes and shocking red, curly hair.

“It’s no trouble, dear! Pardon me, but are you from America? It’s only your accent, see,” the woman said, raising her eyebrows and giving them another friendly smile. “I’m Molly, by the way, Molly Weasley.”

The rest of the group seemed to notice that they’d stopped and waited off to the side. Percy answered for Annabeth, who seemed too gobsmacked to speak for herself.

“My name’s Percy Jackson, and this is Annabeth Chase. Yes, we’re from New York actually. We’re heading to Hogwarts for the Tri-” Percy paused as Annabeth hit him and whispered, “What was that for?!”

She pulled him over to her and furiously responded, “It’s a secret! Nobody’s supposed to know about it.” Her eyes darted suspiciously to the nice ginger lady.

Percy’s face was now surely as red as hers had been a moment previously, and Molly Weasley was clearly amused. “We’re going to Hogwarts for an event,” he said lamely. _Wish Annabeth had told us that before._

The witch laughed at them, though he could tell it wasn’t meant to be rude. 

“If you mean the Triwizard Tournament, I know about it, my husband works for the Ministry. Though this young lady is quite right, the general public isn’t supposed to have any knowledge of it. I think it will be quite nice for the children to meet people from your country. I have four children who will be going back to school this fall, I’m sure they’ll be delighted to meet you!” She grinned again, and Percy decided it was only polite to ask more.

“What are their names? Maybe we’ll meet them,” he said, giving a smile back. Annabeth pulled away from him and walked over to the group, who seemed to be growing impatient, giving his hand a squeeze before she left.

Mrs. Weasley looked happy he’d asked. “Oh, their names are Ginny, Ron, Fred, and George, and they’re all in Gryffindor. They’d be here with me, of course, buying their things, but Arthur - that’s my husband - he took them to the Quidditch World Cup along with their three older brothers.”

Percy had absolutely no idea what “quidditch” was, but it sounded like a sport, so he guessed that was cool. He saw Annabeth and the rest of the others looking at him impatiently, and decided it was probably time to wrap things up and move on with their day.  “Awesome! Well, Mrs. Weasley, if we meet your kids we’ll be sure to say hi to them. It was nice meeting you!”

He waved, and she returned the favor as they both returned to their own busy schedules.

“Finally,” drawled Thalia, rolling her eyes dramatically, “I thought you were going to stand there and talk until the end of time.”

Percy ignored her and turned to Annabeth, who was trying to hide her smile at the daughter of Zeus’ comment. Obviously, she agreed.

“So, where next, Wise Girl?” he asked, trying to get them all back on track and off of the subject of himself.

He jumped about a foot in the air when Connor’s voice came from right over his left shoulder, “Well, Mermaid Man, we’ve got to wear clothes while we’re at this Hogwarts place,” and then from over his right shoulder, came Travis, “so where do you _think_ we’re going next?” Percy could tell they thought it was extremely amusing that they’d managed to startle him, but he was getting a bit annoyed. One could only be easygoing for so long.

“Okay, you guys, it’s usually funny when you pull stuff like that, but can we focus on what we’re doing, please? This is taking long enough as it is without you two escalating everything.” _Good gods,_ he thought, _Annabeth’s rubbing off on me._

Apparently the sons of Hermes agreed, because they snickered as they backed off, Connor muttering, “Okay, Annabeth,” loud enough for everyone to hear. Kyra, Nico, and Thalia had stopped paying attention after laughing at their startling Percy, but Clarisse and Annabeth both heard and laughed a bit.

Annabeth walked over to him and grabbed his hand, chuckling, “Come on, Seaweed Brain, time for robes.”

“Fine,” he said, “but I don’t have to like it.”

* * *

After the fiasco at Madam Malkin’s that everyone swore on the River Styx to never mention to Chiron or anyone who would tell him, the rest of the shopping trip went rather uneventfully. They ate dinner around 5:45 before going to the bookstore, which was pretty nice considering Percy hadn’t had anything to eat all day and _especially_ considering the time difference. It had been nearly 10:30 a.m. before they left Camp Half-Blood, and since London was five hours ahead and shopping took a while, it was almost 8:00 p.m. when they were done after eating and getting everything they needed to.

Percy had picked up the required texts at Flourish and Blotts, but also a sweet find called _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ and its brand-new companion _Magical Creatures of the Deep,_ both by this guy named Newt Scamander who sounded really cool from what he could tell.  

Annabeth, being the book-loving daughter of Athena that she was, had picked up about a million books and didn’t stop chattering about them - there was something about magical architecture? - until they reached the Leaky Cauldron. Most of the others had only gotten one or two other than the Standard Book of Spells 1-4, which were enough to carry on their own. Kyra was the only one besides Annabeth who had more. She didn’t even have the excuse of being a daughter of Athena… She was just a nerd.

She simply responded with sticking her tongue out at Percy when he pointed this out to her.

It didn’t take very long to end up back at the Leaky Cauldron, where Annabeth made Percy pack everything into the trunk he’d gotten from his dad before she let him sleep.

“Tomorrow is going to be a long day, Percy. The first day of term at Hogwarts is the day after, and we need to do some studying before we even think about setting foot on that train,” she lectured as they got ready for bed, curling up together under the blanket.  

Percy sighed. “Yeah, I know. Goodnight, Wise Girl. I love you,” he said, pecking her on the cheek before rolling over to sleep.

* * *

Apparently Percy Jackson couldn’t even go one night without having some sort of world-ending dream. Ah, well. He was used to it by now.

The dream started in a dark room. Percy couldn’t see much, but he could tell that it was a large room and that it was mostly empty except for two people at the opposite end, standing in front of what seemed to be a long, tall box. He crept over - people had certainly recognized him watching them while dreaming before, you could never be too careful - being careful to stay in the shadows of the already-dim room.

As Percy got closer, it became clear that he had come in on the middle of a conversation. One voice sounded male, and the other female, and they were both at least humanoid, if not human.

“I need one of you to go check on our friend and make sure that the events that took place this evening aren’t going to set our plan back at all. Mortals can be so simple, I want assurances that nothing is going to be a problem on his end,” came a voice that Percy had no trouble recognizing at all. It was undoubtedly clear that the grating, nigh unbearable tones belonged to Kronos, the Titan of Time that they had apparently only _almost_ defeated. But nothing the Titan had said really helped Percy at all; they already knew he was up to something, Percy wanted to know what.

“Yes, my lord,” came the female voice. Percy didn’t recognize it, but made a note that it was unusually husky and deep. “Is there anything else you would like us to do?”

“Actually, yes,” replied Kronos. “Jacobs, have you had contact with our spy recently?”

Another voice that Percy recognized, but couldn’t believe, responded. “Yes, my lord. S-”

“Do not speak his name! You never know who could be listening, you idiot son of Apollo,” raged Kronos, and Percy mentally swore. How awesome it would’ve been if the Titan hadn’t interrupted him and they knew who the spy was.

Percy couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He’d thought that Riley Jacobs, the only son of Apollo with that last name whose voice he would recognize, had died alongside his brother Michael Yew in the fight _against_ Kronos. And now he’d joined him? It was a disappointing thought that Kronos could still convince demigods to come to his side even after all the work they’d put in directly after the battle. Percy didn’t want any demigod to feel alone or unwanted, but it was highly likely that, like Luke, that was the reason Riley chose the wrong side.

“Forgive me, my lord. It will not happen again,” Riley said in a stiff voice, clearly resenting having been told off. “Our spy checked in a few hours ago. The quest group made it to London, but that was really the only useful news he had. He said that he would check in again with us when he heard about their arrival at the school.”

Kronos responded quickly. “You are both dismissed. Jacobs, prepare for your meeting with the wizard tomorrow. Michaels, ensure that your task is accomplished.” Both demigods left the room, and invisible eyes rested themselves on Percy’s spine. Chills ran through him, and a cold wind swept the room.

“I know you are listening, Percy Jackson. How does it feel, knowing that there is no way to stop us?”

* * *

The next morning, Percy awoke to the sunshine streaming through the window and illuminating Annabeth’s sleeping face. Her golden curls were messy from tossing and turning; his own almost certainly was as well. Her expression was serene, relaxed - more peaceful than they were likely to be allowed to be again anytime soon. He didn’t want to wake her.

But alas, there were things to be accomplished still, and with only one day until the demigods made their journey, things had to be accomplished soon.

“Annabeth?” he murmured, pulling a lock of golden hair out of her eyes. “We’ve got stuff to do today, Wise Girl. Unfortunately, I must drag you from the land of Hypnos.”

“What?” she mumbled, rolling over and nearly smacking him full-on in the face. Percy bit his lip to avoid laughing, since the daughter of Athena tended to be a bit crotchety in the mornings.

“Don’t we have stuff to do? It’s already, like, 10:30?”

This certainly got a reaction. She immediately started shoving him over so that she could spring from the bed. “Let - me - up!”

Each word was punctuated with a smack to his chest, which was simultaneously shaking with laughter. Percy eventually took pity on her and rolled off of the feather-light mattress - for what seemed like a 3-star inn, they had _awesome_ beds - which resulted in Annabeth plunging to the floor a foot below from her own velocity.

She jumped up quite quickly and grabbed his shoulders - presumably intending to hurt him in some way - but he pulled her into a kiss, finished pulling on the shirt he had grabbed five seconds before, and fled the room, cackling.

* * *

“Alright, time for dinner.”

“ _Finally,”_ moaned Nico, dropping to the ground and leaning against a tree. They’d managed to find a clearing outside of the city - and what a fun cab ride _that_ was - and had been practicing for three hours straight.

“Annabeth, it’s almost seven. Why didn’t we take dinner an hour ago when we started asking? We barely even ate today,” whined Kyra, who was extremely unhappy with the August heat and sunshine. Percy kept catching her sticking her tongue out at the sun, and she only met his raised eyebrows with a stubborn glare.

“Because,” said Annabeth, stowing her wand in her bag and heaving it onto her back, “We needed to finish practicing. And look, here we are.”

“But we only know the very, _very_ minimum basics,” said Kyra, stowing her wand as well and preparing to leave. The Stoll brothers had started throwing their pile of grass ripped up earlier - another long story - at Clarisse and Percy was sure they were soon going to regret it.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at their antics before responding, “Yeah, that’s all we really need to know for now. I mean, we’re only really learning any magic beforehand so we don’t seem like complete strangers who have no business there until the reveal. We might need to learn more later, but that’ll come when it does.”

“I suppose you’re right,” said Kyra, lazily flicking her wrist and freezing Connor and Travis’ feet to the ground so Clarisse could smack them both upside the head and stomp away to retrieve her things.

“You deserved it,” laughed Kyra when the brothers glared at her. She unfroze their feet and turned back to Annabeth and Percy. Percy wondered if he should warn her of the devilish look in the brother’s eyes and how they were eying the mud from the melted ice.

“Don’t even _think_ about it,” said Kyra, without even having to look at them. Percy supposed having a little brother like Seamus must have at least partially prepared her for the Stolls.

“Can we go now,” asked Nico, who had finally dragged himself over. It had been real work for him, and he hadn’t enjoyed learning magic much at all so far. Percy kinda pitied the poor guy.

“Does anybody know where Thalia went?” asked Clarisse, looking around as she joined the group.

“She’s just kind of been disappearing off and on, I have no clue where she went this time. I’m sure she’ll show up,” said Travis offhandedly, and Connor nodded enthusiastically.

“Alright, then,” said Annabeth, looking a bit confused, “Dinner.”


End file.
